Maryland teachers want their money as nonprofit that hired them explains payment delays

Maryland teachers contracted through a program providing arts education in local schools — including in Baltimore City and Baltimore County — are demanding payment after what they describe as lengthy delays and partial compensation.

Many have dedicated years of service to Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, or LTYC.

The nonprofit, based in a Mount Vernon office, gets contracts with school systems and other groups, then contracts with the educators.

Payment problems

Several teachers contacted WJZ Investigates about late payments, saying the situation worsened last year and continued into this year.

Cedric Benning, who has taught media arts for eight years under contracts with LTYC, said his bills are piling up.

"Everything is behind," Benning said. "I haven't paid the car note. I haven't paid anything in months. I've been on the phone with debt collectors trying to work it out with them the best I can."

Benning said he loved the job at Baltimore's Booker T. Washington Middle School, but he cannot afford the uncertainty anymore. 

"A lot of these schools don't have arts, so when you're blessed with the opportunity to present them, you take full advantage of it," Benning said.

Jermaine Melvin, also known as Platinum J, has taught dance for four years, contracting with LTYC. 

"I'm owed $12,000 as of today, 12,000," Melvin said. "That's not something that I'm just going to forget about and walk away. We are all here in debt because of this. Our credit is messed up. I'm behind on bills. I'm negative in my account right now."

Camrie Hilton, a former program administrator for LTYC, said instructors are owed anywhere from $2,000 to as much as $17,000. 

"Ultimately, the children are affected. The children and the schools in our community are affected," Hilton said.

Wiping back tears, her colleague Valerie Hall-Butler said, "Hearing this breaks my heart because they shouldn't have to go through this. I feel like I struggle now because of what has happened. I haven't done this since I left home on my own."

Hall-Butler, a visual arts instructor who has contracted with Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center since 2019, said she is owed a little more than $2,000. 

"It angers me because we stuck it out to the end," the grandmother said. "We were committed, dedicated, and we gave everything. We left it all at the doorstep of every school that we were in." 

Nonprofit's president speaks

Dr. Dermell Brunson, who founded LTYC two decades ago and is the president of the organization, spoke with WJZ Investigates to address the complaints. 

"This last year has been the toughest year on record for LTYC, mainly because of the late payments from districts, but also because of just the climate for nonprofits," Brunson said. 

Brunson said he understands the frustration and anger. 

Asked how many people might be owed money, Brunson said close to 40. He pushed back on claims that they are owed as much as $17,000. 

"There's no one instructor making more than $5,000 to $6,000 in one month," Brunson said. 

Brunson told WJZ he respects the teachers and does not want to cast blame, but he insists the delays are due to school systems and other vendors failing to pay him on time.

"We did everything we could as far as preparing the staff. We sat everyone down last August — maybe months before we started to have the real issue of the delayed payments — to let them know exactly what was happening," Brunson said. 

Brunson estimated his organization is owed "about $350,000 outstanding, not from only Baltimore City. I just want to make that clear. This is not about a bash or a singling out of Baltimore City. That's not what we're up to. There are multiple districts combined that make up that roughly $347,000 and some change that we're still out currently."

School systems respond 

WJZ Investigates reached out to Anne Arundel County Public Schools. 

"We have paid all submitted invoices" to LTYC," Anne Arundel County schools Chief Communications Officer Bob Mosier said.  

Charles Herndon, with Baltimore County Public Schools, said, "Leaders of Tomorrow's Youth Center, Inc., is an approved BCPS vendor that provides student mentoring and out-of-school arts programs. Payment times are currently 4 to 6 weeks from the receipt of an approved invoice."

In Baltimore City, Sherry Christian, City Schools' public relations manager, sent WJZ Investigates information about a contract with LTYC that ran from February 2023 to the end of June 2025, worth $4.5 million. 

City Schools noted LTYC now has a contract through June 2026 and served 13 schools during the 2024-2025 school year.     

"To date, City Schools has issued payments totaling more than $605,000. We remain in communication with LTYC to address any existing payment issues related to incomplete or unsupported invoices," the statement said. 

Baltimore City Schools also told WJZ there are "unpaid invoices from LTYC totaling $31,266. The primary reason these invoices haven't been paid is that LTYC is performing services beyond the amount authorized in the purchase order, which is not compliant with our procurement procedures."

"To be clear, any failure on the part of LTYC to pay its employees is solely the responsibility of LTYC. Any inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to the organization's president and founder, Dr. Dermell Brunson," the statement said 

Dr. Brunson told WJZ in response, "It's not that folks aren't getting paid. It's the delay. Delay is not denial."

A state audit into Baltimore City schools released earlier this year did find that many vendors were paid late in the past. 

"Even if over the period of a whole school year, you may have paid out $605,000, it didn't come on time. It still caused issues. And so, that's what we've been experiencing," Brunson said. "Yes, eventually, as we've told our team, they're going to get caught up, and when they're caught up with us, we'll get caught up with you. It's just pretty simple."

Brunson said nonprofits like his are facing headwinds, and he said even on-time payments come 60 days after the service is provided because of the way the contracts are structured. 

"If there were any other variables that were internal, they would've shown up years ago. This is a new issue. This is something that we're rectifying in real time," Brunson said. 

Brunson did not commit to an exact timeline to pay all his contractors, but one teacher told WJZ he recently got paid in full through April and shared correspondence from LTYC saying the organization would be caught up by the end of the month. 

"These are good people, good-hearted folks. They love kids. They love the arts, and we're really saddened by the climate that's happening right now for multiple businesses," Brunson said. 

He said he is committed to keeping LTYC running for the long haul. The organization also operates in Prince George's County, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. "It's really important that we take this time of challenge and turn it into a time of triumph."

"We're learning the hard way that we can't rely on one or two partners or contracts to ensure the timely payment and functional abilities and operational flow of the organization. We're in a season where we need new investors. We need new financing. We need new philanthropic support," Brunson said. 

But some of those educators who have not gotten all their money said they have no desire to enter into another agreement with LTYC or Brunson. 

"There's no trust. There's nothing. Zilch," Melvin said. 

Hall-Butler told WJZ she never formally left. "They just failed us. I felt like they walked away from us when we didn't walk away from them," she said. 

LTYC is currently hiring. 

"Our community is so huge in Baltimore," Camrie Hilton said. "We want to make sure not only that we get paid, but also that this does not happen to other people."

Some of these teacher-contractors said they are so behind on their bills, they have started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to get back on their feet. 

 "You left us high and dry," Melvin said.