BALTIMORE — At the start of their meeting on Monday, the Harford County Board of Education held a moment of silence for a second student who had died from gun violence in less than two months.
A 14-year-old student at Havre de Grace High School named Jai’den Winchester was shot and killed at a Halloween party late Saturday night. A 16-year-old is being charged with murder.
“Sadly, we have lost yet another student in Harford County,” said Aaron Poynton, head of the school board.
Lauren Strauss, a board member, said, “This senseless tragedy has an effect on many people.”
The teen’s death happened just one week after the district held a meeting on community safety to talk about how to make schools safer after Warren Grant was killed at Joppatowne High School in September.
Better monitoring and a call for metal detectors are two of the security changes.
The vice president of the school board will keep his job.
Board of Education Vice President Melissa Hahn asked the Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson to step down in meetings after the shooting at Joppatowne High School, where one person died. This was because there were known security problems.
“I once again ask that Dr. Bulson step down as superintendent right away,” Hahn said at a meeting on September 23.
A motion to remove Hahn’s vice president title was made two weeks ago. Board member Carol Mueller said it was inappropriate to make such a demand in public, which made some of Hahn’s fans angry at Monday’s meeting.
“We cannot set a precedent where we indict and demote our board colleagues over petty disagreements,” a speaker said.
After reading through the rules, the board president put an end to the move on Monday.
“I’m declaring that the motion was improperly declared and clarifying that the motion did not achieve the required majority vote to pass,” said Poynton. “I’m hoping after this point of order this evening that the board can get back to work and do the serious work that we need to focus on.”
Parents and staff were sent a survey about neighborhood safety to fill out and return.
Source: Harford County school board meets after second student death from gun violence in two months
