The Harford County school board placed Superintendent Sean Bulson on temporary paid leave, the board president announced Wednesday evening on Facebook.
The board, Aaron Poynton wrote, “ordered an independent investigation into the entire matter.”
He’s referring to an audio clip posted by Turnbull Brockmeyer Law Group on Facebook this week purporting to be a 911 call from Bulson. The post claims the clip is from April 2024 during a school-related conference in New Orleans, during which Bulson reported $8,000 worth of items, including a laptop, wallet and cellphones, stolen from a hotel room. In the audio clip, the caller said he suspected a woman whose name he did not know stole his property while he was sleeping.
The validity of the audio has not been confirmed. The Banner requested the call from the New Orleans government, where an official said they’ve been inundated with requests.
Dyann Mack, the deputy superintendent, will serve as acting superintendent, Poynton said.
In a Wednesday night statement, Mack wrote that she’s “honored by the Board of Education’s confidence in me.”
“My focus is, and will remain, on ensuring stability, and steady, strong, and thoughtful leadership for our school system,” the statement said.
In Poynton’s post, he said the audio circulating on social media has raised questions but an internal review confirmed no student data was compromised due to the alleged theft.
“The attention and distraction surrounding this reported incident has created challenges for the school system at a time when our focus must remain squarely on students, staff, and the uninterrupted operation of our schools,” he wrote.
Adele Brockmeyer, the lawyer who posted the 911 audio on Facebook, said in a Wednesday evening interview that she was unhappy with Poynton’s statement.
“I read it as ‘Adele is distracting our school system by releasing this 911 tape,’” she said.
Brockmeyer questioned how an internal review confirmed there was no breach of student data when the alleged incident happened over a year ago.
Poynton said a majority vote by the board, which called a closed-door special meeting Wednesday afternoon, put Bulson on paid administrative leave.
“The Board has full confidence in our leadership team and remains committed to transparency, professionalism, and the highest standards of governance,” he stated. “We will continue to focus on what matters most: supporting our students, empowering our educators, and serving the families and community of Harford County.”
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