Why Kelly Madigan Matters

By: Maggie Litz Domanowski

(These are my personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of the Board Education of Baltimore County)

If you've already been following me on Facebook, you know how passionate I have been about supporting Kelly Madigan to stay in her role as the Inspector General for Baltimore County. As a Baltimore County Board of Education member, you might think that I have devoted too much of my time to this issue. I would respectfully disagree, and here's why.

What Kelly Madigan exemplified as the first-ever Inspector General for Baltimore is exactly what's needed in public education: transparency and accountability. Since Kelly was chosen by an independent panel, she was able to conduct the main purpose of an Inspector General: to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse at all levels and positions in our Baltimore County government, free from the fear of retaliation or conflicts of interest from those she might have to report to.

Public education budgets have skyrocketed across the country, and Baltimore County is no exception. Since 2019, the operating budget for Baltimore County public schools has increased by nearly 70%, from $1.9 billion in 2019 to $2.8 billion in 2025. Half of BCPS's budget, $1.4 billion, comes from our local Baltimore County government. However, our elected Baltimore County officials aren't able to direct the Superintendent or the Board of Education on how to spend that money.

The County Executive and Counsel can approve and advise, but what is ultimately done with that $1.4 billion in Baltimore County taxpayer funds Kathy Klausmeier approved for the FY26 Board of Education budget is up to the Superintendent. Since the Board of Education has to approve the Superintendent's budget before it can be brought before the County Executive, it's the Superintendent and staff who make the final "adjustments" on the adopted operating budget for the Baltimore County Board of Education.

When the Board voted on July 9, 2024, to dismantle the Budget Committee, they sent a clear message to all Board members that they should not be intricately involved in the budget process. On March 11, 2025, when the Board voted to censure one of their own, they sent another clear message that Board members shouldn't even question budget decisions, all while our students are seeing little to no improvement in academic outcomes.

$2.8 billion taxpayer dollars that our elected officials at the local, state, federal levels, and even the Board of Education have little to no oversight on. I would not only love to see, but I would also fully support someone like Kelly Madigan, or Kelly Madigan herself, being granted oversight to investigate any cases of waste, fraud, and abuse in our Baltimore County Public Schools.

More from my Facebook and other social media posts:

July 25, 2025 - "County Executive Kathy Klausmeier announced her selection for Inspector General of Baltimore County… but she didn’t have to.

Now, instead of the focus remaining where it should:

Kelly Madigan had been doing an excellent job in her role as the very first Inspector General for Baltimore County. Six of Seven council members are on record as saying so and that they would support her continuing a second 4-year term.

Kelly Madigan wasn’t just locally praised for doing her job well, she was nationally recognized for it.

Why did Kathy Klausmeier decide to open her position up to the public?

Why did Kathy Klausmeier not tell Kelly until the process had already started that she could “reapply” apply for her position?

Was Kathy Klausmeier critical of the work Kelly was or had been doing as the Inspector General? If so, what was she critical of?

Who else, if anyone, was upset or critical of the work Kelly was doing? Did they share these concerns with Kathy Klausmeier?

Who decided on the selection process and when?

How were panel members decided for each round and when?

Was it ethical, legal, and transparent to all who applied, and to the Baltimore County tax payers?

No where in these above statements is the focus on Ms. Khadija Walker or her abilities to do the job, because this is not about Ms. Walker… or at least it wasn’t until today."

July 29, 2025 - "A few notes for now from tonight’s Baltimore County Council work session including the presentation of the CE’s selection for our next Inspector General.

1- Those supporting Kelly Madigan’s reappointment are bipartisan.

2- The CE made this appointment political when she decided to fix something that wasn’t broken.

3- The Inspector General is not and should never be a political appointee.

4- You don’t fire someone for doing a good job.

Keep Kelly."

August 5, 2025 - "This is a sad day for this council, a sad day for Baltimore County and an especially disheartening day for Ms. Walker, who deserved a fair evaluation and not to be treated in this way. Let the record reflect that I strongly object the way this process was handled, and I will continue to speak out when fairness and transparency are cast aside for mob rule." -Baltimore County Councilmember for District 4 – Julian Jones

I respectfully disagree.

On the contrary, yesterday’s vote to deny the County Executive’s appointment for the office of IG was an example of how local political representation and leadership is supposed to work.

You can call us a “mob” or “hijackers,” but we are the people you were elected to represent. This was not about you, or Ms. Walker, or even the County Executive.

What happened yesterday is what’s supposed to happen when elected leaders listen to the people, they took an oath to serve, and not on personal feelings, opinions, or even personal obligations. Leaders who put their people above themselves. That was a true example of bipartisan leadership.

Kelly Madigan is a highly qualified, local, and successful IG.

What are your reasons for wanting to replace her with a candidate who lives three hours away and will cost, the Baltimore residents you represent, $50,000 more a year? A fact that was only brought to light on the morning of her confirmation. Is Ms. Walker that much better and more qualified than Ms. Madigan? How is that fiscally responsible or transparent?

We are not a mob. We are not hijackers. We are the residents of Baltimore County. We are people you vowed to represent. And we are paying attention."