Baltimore (WBFF) — Messages sent through an encrypted cell phone app and never meant to be seen by the public are now shedding light on what’s happening at the Maryland State Department of Education.

The messages appear to support concerns over the state superintendent’s leadership, transparency, and creation of a toxic workplace culture.

Project Baltimore asked Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury about the messages at the August 22 state board of education meeting.

“Mr. Superintendent, have you ever used the Signal Application in commission of your job?” Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst asked.

Choudhury replied, “I have no comment. For my job, no.”

“You’ve never used Signal for your job?” Papst asked again.

“No,” replied Choudhury.

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Signal is an encrypted messaging app that allows users to set a timer to automatically delete messages.

The software, found in the app store for most smartphones, is marketed as having “privacy at its core.”

The State Superintendent told Project Baltimore on the record, publicly, that he does not use the Signal App for his job, but screenshots suggest otherwise.

Project Baltimore obtained screenshots of conversations between Choudhury and high-ranking employees within the Maryland State Department of Education.

Each one is a “Signal Message” sent by “Mohammed Choudhury” to at least one high-level employee at MSDE who asked not to be identified. Project Baltimore received multiple text threads, which the source says were sent between late 2021 and 2022.

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In the screenshots, Choudhury’s name and picture are visible. The phone number is also registered to the superintendent. In the messages, Choudhury certainly appears to be talking about work.

In one screenshot, Choudhury “set the disappearing message timer to 1 hour”, which applies to select messages.

Choudhury writes, “All of that teacher assignment stuff is too much.”

In another Signal message, Choudhury tells an employee a project needs “A LOT of work.” He goes on to say, “as of now, I’m not even close to green lighting anything there”.

In another instance, Choudhury appears to berate his employee, saying, “What feels like a waste of time is tell (sic) me last minute we are changing survey links when I told you I didn’t want to do this.”

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The employee responds, “I don’t understand what you see the issue to be"

Choudhury writes back, “I’ll make it easy for you guys. Your (sic) not changing it. It’s staying as is. Don’t meet with me today. Done. That’s a directive.”

“So cancel the Qualtrics license?” Asks the employee.

Choudhury responds, “Yes, I don’t give a F*** about Qualtrics at this point.”

Qualtrics is a data analytics platform used by MSDE.

So, why would the superintendent use an encrypted messaging app that autodeletes his conversations about work?

If messages are sent through Signal, parents and taxpayers cannot see what’s being said by their state superintendent about public schools. On August 3, Project Baltimore filed a public records request for Signal App data on the cell phone of Mohammed Choudhury.

MSDE replied, “there are no documents or records responsive to your request”.

That’s probably because, as far as Project Baltimore can tell, the Signal app is not on Choudhury’s state-issued phone. The phone number listed is his personal number, meaning the state superintendent is using an app to encrypt and erase messages about state business, on his personal cell phone.

So, Project Baltimore followed up with Choudhury in an email, asking him to explain the screenshots and why he said he never used the Signal app for his job. His answer has now changed.

In a statement, Choudhury said he’s used the encrypted messaging app with “family and friends.”

He went on to say he used the app to communicate personal messages with one senior member of his team, adding, “despite my repeated directives to not message me any official agency business-related matters through the Signal application, this individual continued to try to do so.”

But is that true? On another Signal message under Choudhury’s name, it reads “Member of SPCI”. SPCI, according to Project Baltimore’s source, stands for Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement, a group chat including at least three MSDE employees communicating through Signal.

In a thread from the group chat, there are instances where Choudhury initiates the conversation, even adding employees to the group. The discussion is not personal; it’s about Maryland Leads, a state grant program that helps schools spend federal funds.

The Superintendent’s current contract expires in June 2024. The state school board is set to vote in two weeks on whether to offer him another contract. That vote has already been delayed twice amid serious transparency concerns and allegations of a toxic workplace culture.