Hours after taking the oath of office, Maryland’s newest leader, Gov. Wes Moore, answered questions from the press before celebrating with 11,000 of his supporters at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Noting he was ready to get to work, Moore said public safety would be one of the biggest topics he would dive into as governor. In Baltimore, violent crime continues to be a concern as the city surpassed 300 homicides in 2022 for the eighth consecutive year.

In addition to public safety, Baltimore City has had several issues within some public schools. FOX45’s Project Baltimore has investigated the failures at some City Schools for years, uncovering problems in the classroom and highlighting issues that are now investigated at the state level.

Ghost students became a major investigative focus at Augusta Fells High School when Project Baltimore highlighted the school was inflating enrollment numbers; an internal investigation from City Schools confirmed the enrollment irregularities and thousands of dollars have already been paid back to taxpayers.