Harford County government leaders have spent county resources investigating Harford Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson and called for him to resign or to be terminated, but ultimately Bulson’s fate lies with the Board of Education. Its current president said Thursday that she hopes to negotiate a buyout with the superintendent instead of trying to terminate him.

Bulson is Harford Schools’ top-paid employee, earning an annual salary of $293,219.57 and his 30-day paid administrative leave ends Feb. 7. His four-year contract with Harford Schools ends June 30.

Per state law, Bulson must let the school board know by Feb. 1 whether he intends to renew his contract.

Acting school board president Lauren Paige said she does not believe Bulson will seek renewal, but she is unsure where he stands on the situation because he has been publicly silent for more than two weeks, since a 911 call Bulson made from a New Orleans education conference surfaced. In the call Bulson reports a possible theft of school-district devices from his hotel room. The items were later found in a safe inside his hotel room.

Paige said the school board’s attorney is drafting a message to Bulson giving him one week to respond and either make a public statement or meet with the board.

“My true hope and my real call is for Bulson to make a statement,” Paige said. “He has left the school system reeling and we have nothing from him. It is really hurting us as a board, and it’s hurting the community.”

Attempts to contact Bulson for comment were unsuccessful.

Paige said she believes a buyout of Bulson’s contract is the most responsible path forward and “best-case scenario.” An attempted termination could open the school system to a lawsuit, she said, which she wants to avoid.

“We would have to have a very airtight case, and it’s still appealable to the state and so there is a lot to consider,” Paige said. “The good news is, there are only five months left on his contract. What is the best use of your tax dollars right now?”

In a news release Wednesday, County Executive Bob Cassilly again took aim at Bulson, saying he planned to contact the Maryland Superintendent of Schools to have Bulson terminated.

State law mandates that the state superintendent or local board of education may remove a sitting county superintendent for immorality, misconduct in office, insubordination, incompetency or willful neglect of duty.

Paige became the board’s acting president after the abrupt resignation of former school board president Aaron Poynton on Jan. 8 — which happened just hours after the board voted to place Bulson on a 30-day paid administrative leave.

Per state law, a county superintendent has until Feb. 1 of the year his contract ends to notify the local school board if he wants to renew it. The local board has until March 1 to decide whether or not reappoint the incumbent superintendent at a public meeting.

Paige said she is near certain the school board will not renew Bulson’s contract, which expires at the end of June. Paige, who was reappointed to the school board in June 2025 by Cassilly, said she is working to figure out the school board’s options and chart a path forward.

“This is uncharted waters for us, trying to navigate this with no experience and figure out how we get through it,” Paige said. “I am just trying to navigate and lead this board the best I can.”

Since the 911 call surfaced earlier this month, local leaders moved to find actionable ways to expedite Bulson’s resignation or termination. In the call — made using Deputy Superintendent Eric Davis’ personal cellphone — Bulson reported that a woman he had invited into his hotel room allegedly stole his wallet, his cellphone, an Apple watch, an iPad, and his school-issued cellphone and laptop after he fell asleep around 2 a.m.

Davis was also placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, which the district’s communications manager, Jillian Lader, said is consistent with the school system’s practice in handling personnel matters.

Harford County Council President Patrick Vincenti, who is also a 2026 candidate for county executive, ordered a county-led audit into the 2024 New Orleans trip which reported findings identical to the Maryland Office of the Inspector General of Education’s investigation in finding that Bulson’s items were misplaced and not stolen.

Despite the investigations’ findings, Cassilly has repeatedly called for the Board of Education not to renew Bulson’s contract and for him to resign. Numerous County Council members have made similar demands.

Paige said there are “a lot of unknowns” and the board does not know yet which route to take. The Harford Board of Education is expected to meet next week in a closed session, which Paige hopes will lead to some clear decisions for how to proceed.

“I want Bulson to put forth a package,” Paige said, emphasizing that a buyout would allow the school board to immediately start the search for a new superintendent.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.