Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson on Tuesday did not directly respond to a call for his resignation. Instead, he said his focus was on keeping the school community safe.

“I am focused on ensuring the community continues to work towards healing and improving every day to create the safest environment possible in our schools,” Bulson wrote in an email Tuesday.

Dr. Sean Bulson, Harford County Superintendent of Schools

On Monday night, Harford County Board of Education Vice President Melissa Hahn called on Bulson to resign following a fatal shooting at Joppatowne High School earlier this month. Hahn alleged that Bulson knew about many security concerns at Joppatowne High, ranging from a shortage of lockers and faulty walkie-talkies to uncontrolled student behavior.

Hahn’s comments were made during the school board’s first meeting since the shooting that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Warren Curtis Grant.

“A child has died, and this is directly due to the negligence on the part of Dr. Bulson,” Hahn said. “Dr. Bulson failed to enforce discipline policies and procedures while knowing of their existence … and it is for that reason and many other reasons that I request that Dr. Bulson immediately resign as superintendent.”

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that there were no updates in the shooting investigation and the gun used in the killing has not yet been found.

Bulson’s current contract with the Board of Education began in 2022 and is set to expire in 2026. Bulson is paid an annual salary of $256,000 with a monthly vehicle allowance of $800. He was originally hired in 2018.

Bulson, who attended the meeting online due to an illness, provided a “special update” during the meeting, citing numerous safety measures he had implemented in the school system before the shooting. The measures included the use of school safety liaisons, training thousands of Harford school staff members in how to respond to threatening situations, and a push for additional lockers in Joppatowne High School.

Bulson was not present during Hahn’s statements calling for his removal.

Harford County Moms for Liberty Chapter Chair Suzie Scott said in an interview that the chapter supports the call for Bulson to resign. Scott said she feels student test scores have fallen while school violence has gotten worse.

“Our school system celebrates themselves all of the time while achieving no results and until we get rid of Bulson, our schools are going to be violent and unwelcoming to students,” Scott said.  “It is ridiculous. There is nothing to be celebrated right now in Harford County Public Schools.”

Some public speakers said they felt the call for Bulson’s resignation is “thin” and and that there is an ulterior motive behind it.

“I am under the suspicion that the reason is less out of a sincere belief that he dropped the ball and more of trying to capitalize on a tragic event to get someone out of the way that they don’t like for other reasons,” said speaker James Ramsey.

Ramsey noted Hahn’s connection with Moms for Liberty — a political organization that advocates for parental rights and against school curricula that mention LGBTQ+ rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory and discrimination. He  noted that the group has been critical of Bulson and speculated that the call for his resignation is nothing more than a way for the group to remove him because he has posed challenges for the group.

A representative of the local branch of the NAACP shared the same sentiment while adding that one person cannot be blamed for Grant’s death.

“To blame the horrific tragedy on any one person is an attempt to shift the focus from the collective issue that confronts our schools and all schools and that is a lack of resources and an increase in gun violence,” said Gina Kazimir, communications chair for the Harford County branch of the NAACP.

Board of Education President Aaron Poynton said in a statement that Hahn’s comments do not reflect the opinions of the rest of the board’s members. He said the call for Bulson’s resignation is a “serious matter that requires thorough consideration by the board” and that members will evaluate findings related to the shooting and take “any necessary steps based on a full understanding of the situation.”

“We are committed to examining all the facts and circumstances surrounding the recent tragedy at Joppatowne High School,” Poynton wrote. “The safety and security of our students and staff remains the board’s top priority.”

In order to remove the superintendent, the Board of Education would need a majority vote recommending the removal to the State Board of Education, which would have the final say.  According to Bulson’s contract, the board may remove him for:

Immorality
Misconduct in office including violation of the board’s ethics policy
Insubordination
Incompetence
Willful neglect of duty including those duties and responsibilities set forth in the contract

Bulson’s contract states that Bulson may resign by providing written notice to the board 60 days before his resignation date. The board may terminate the contract by providing 30 days of written notice to Bulson, should he agree and accept the termination.

Before being hired in Harford in 2018, Bulson was superintendent of schools in Wilson County, N.C. He spent the first 16 years of his education career in the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.

In response to the call for Bulson’s resignation, County Executive Bob Cassilly sent a statement Tuesday, saying he shares the public’s concerns about “dangerous individuals in the general student population, an overall lack of student discipline and the need to focus on student achievement.” But, he added, “the school board alone is responsible for evaluating the superintendent’s performance and making decisions about [Bulson’s] employment.”