HARFORD, Md. — “It's time for this board to replace the superintendent," says one parent.
Monday night, when the Harford County School Board held its monthly board meeting, dozens of people signed up to speak, many of them calling for change among the board after a student died inside of Joppatowne High School.
“We need to have a safe environment for the children, and that's not really being done very well," says another parent.
Many of them blame the superintendent for not having better safety measures in place prior to the shooting and not having enough lockers for all of the students to store their bags and school supplies.
“A fish rots from the head down; in this case the head is Mr. Bulson; the rot has already spread to others, so I beg you save yourselves and remove the head before it gets you too," says Gary Johnson.
But while many parents called for the superintendent to resign, Harford County teachers and principals expressed their support for Dr. Sean Bulson.
“I have been here for 20 years in Harford County; I've been through five or six superintendents, and let me say this: you are probably the most effective superintendent that I have worked under," says Heather Tucci, teacher at Edgewood Middle School.
“It was under your leadership that we began to practice safety drills at such a high magnitude and increased our security measures in our schools," says Mr. Ronald Wooden, Principal of Old Post Road Elementary.
Last week, school board member Diane Alvarez and Vice President Melissa Hahn asked that Dr. Buslon resign, but some people think the women should resign instead.
“What’s disgusting is those who are exploiting this tragedy and the trauma inflicted by the shooting to further a political agenda."
Greg Johnson, a teacher at Joppatowne High School who was there when the shooting happened, says he wants to see the county come together to find solutions instead of pointing the blame at the board or the principal of the school.
He says people should focus on the bigger problem, which he says is lack of funding.
“We are not getting what we need to support our schools from a financial standpoint; then where do you expect us to improve on safety?" says Greg Johnson.
The board president, along with the rest of the Harford County board members, stated their support for the superintendent and agreed to shift the focus to creating a safety plan for the school system moving forward.
