Harford County audit finds no inappropriate spending during 2024 school work conference
A 10-page report from the Harford County Auditor provides a closer look at the money spent by school board members while on a work conference in New Orleans in April 2024.
The report says nearly $24,000 in taxpayer dollars spent on the trip was "appropriate and supported."
What some board members are calling inappropriate is the incident that occurred on the trip that has landed Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson and Deputy Superintendent Eric Davis on administrative leave.
The report closely mirrors a report released Jan. 12 by the Office of the Inspector General, again confirming Bulson made a 911 call to New Orleans Police to report that two iPhones, a laptop, wallet, iPad and Apple Watch had been stolen by an unknown woman who he let into his room.
Harford County Audit report
The latest report confirms that one of the phones and the laptop were owned by the school district and were later found in the safe in Bulson's room.
The report states that "Dr. Bulson could not speak to how the items got into the safe and does not remember putting them there himself."
The report also said that prior to locating the missing items, Buslon found his wallet in the room, and it was missing all of the cash and one credit card. The report does not detail how the money and the card were lost.
The auditor adds, "Several officials were told of the missing equipment and/or heard rumors of an incident…none of those officials sought further review of the circumstances until January 2026."
The report goes on to explain that the auditor "considered that a few officials could conspire to cover up the events leading up to the devices being lost," but that ultimately fell outside the scope of their review.
WJZ spoke to Harford County Council President Patrick Vincenti, who asked the auditor to investigate the trip following a unanimous vote.
Vincenti told WJZ that he still has "extreme concerns about the conduct of those involved," adding, "the whole thing is disappointing."
A school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, but at this point, it's not clear when they will vote on Dr. Bulson's future with the district.