There are two sides to every story and there’s the truth.
An excerpt from Maryland State Board of Education’s Opinion No. 26-07:
Read the Opinion No. 26-07 in full here
Social Media Posts
The Complainants allege that Mr. Guessford has engaged in several instances of unprofessional public and social media conduct in violation of Section F of the local board’s – Communication Processes. Section F (4) of the Communications Processes provides that local board members: Must refrain from mentioning other Board of Education members, school system employees, or other members of the school community (e.g., parents or others) on personal social networking sites without such individuals’ express consent unless the Board member is addressing an issue of public concern and the Board member’s speech falls under applicable constitutional protections pertaining to the same. (Affidavit signed by nine individuals “Main Aff.” Ex 4). Shortly after the November 8, 2024 elections, Mr. Guessford made disparaging Facebook posts about four fellow board members, falsely accusing them of shirking duties and demanding that they forfeit a portion of their salaries. The information that Mr. Guessford posted was inaccurate and the Complainants allege Mr. Guessford’s attendance record at local board meetings was worse than any of the local board members he singled out in his post for poor attendance. (Main Aff. p. 11 & Ex. 15). More recently in October of 2025, he made several offensive posts on social media regarding Islam and Muslims on his personal Facebook page. He also posted a comment on social media calling for a protest of an Islamic Center open house, which the Complainants claim demonstrates partiality and prejudice, ultimately undermining the trust of the diverse community he serves. His posts were offensive to many in the community and resulted in approximately 250 community members signing a petition calling for his resignation from the local board. (Main Aff. pp.12-13, Exs. 15 – 20).
Mr. Guessford defends his personal conduct and social media presence, asserting that his Facebook page is a private forum for his First Amendment personal expression and does not identify him as a board member. He addressed the protest comment by explaining it was sparked by concerns from LGBTQ students regarding religious texts and was never intended as a specific call to protest the Mosque open house. He also expressed his concerns that his friends who live in Dearborn, Michigan warned him that “Muslims have taken over and are NOT assimilating to the United States Constitution.” (Opposition p. 9). He notes that he conducted meetings with Muslim leadership to learn about their beliefs and subsequently issued a public apology during a broadcasted November 2025 meeting for his lack of sensitivity and removed the posts he made about Muslims. (Opposition, pp. 9-13).
Observation: Mr. Guessford does not deny the disparaging comments he made on his personal Facebook page about four fellow board members falsely accusing them of shirking duties and demanding they forfeit a portion of their salaries. He maintained it was his First Amendment personal expression to post those comments, despite the untruthfulness of them.
Mr. Guessford defended his personal conduct and social media presence, asserting that his Facebook page is a private forum for his First Amendment personal expression and does not identify him as a board member. While Mr. Guessford’s profile on his Facebook page does not identify his as a board member, he has made posts on that Facebook page in which he presents himself as such.
In October, 2025, Mr. Guessford made offensive social media posts regarding Islam and Muslims on his personal Facebook page. These posts were offensive to many in the community. Four hundred and ninety-one (491) community members signed a petition calling for his resignation and numerous individuals spoke during the Public Comment portion of the October 21, 2025 WCBOE Business meeting calling for his resignation.
Contrary to his statement of defense Mr. Guessford did not “conduct meetings with Muslim leadership to learn about their beliefs” and what he calls his public apology can be viewed here. Mr. Guessford was invited to attend a lunch meeting by representatives of the local Islamic Society. On October 20, 2025, Mr. Guessford met for lunch with Shahab Siddiqui, President Anwar Qadri, and Imam Nazir Faruki, Hagerstown Area Religious Council’s (HARC) President Rabbi Mark Perman and Executive Director Kathy Powderly, and Washington County Commissioner Derek Harvey.
As reported by the press, Mr. Guessford did not apologize for his Facebook comment at that meeting. “Told about Guessford's apology during the board meeting, Faruki said he was glad to hear Guessford apologized. Asked if Guessford apologized during the Oct. 20 meeting, Faruki said, "Directly? I would say no."
Faruki said Guessford, as he did during his statement during the board meeting, talked about his freedom of speech. ‘We're fine with that,’ Faruki said.” Faruki said Guessford was asked to "take the post back" and invited to visit the mosque.”
In comments made by Mr. Guessford at the October 21, 2025 WCBOE Business meeting, he maintained that the protest comment – “We should protest.” - was made on his private Facebook page. It was not. The “We should protest.” comment Mr. Guessford made was on the very public Herald-Mail Media Facebook page. He stated his posts were sparked by concerns from LGBTQ students regarding religious texts and was not intended as a specific call to protest the Mosque open house. Where is the documentation of these expressed student concerns? Were the Superintendent and his fellow board of education members made aware of these concerns in accordance with WCBOE Communication Processes?
While Mr. Guessford may have removed some posts from his Facebook page other posts about Muslims and Islam were not removed.