January 23, 2018: Shaun Dallas Dance, Former Superintendent of the Baltimore County Public Schools, Charged With Multiple Counts of Perjury

January 23, 2018

For Immediate Release

State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt announced today that the Baltimore County Grand Jury has returned an indictment charging Shaun Dallas Dance, former Superintendent of the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCoPS), with four counts of perjury arising from his Financial Disclosure Statements for 2012, 2013, and 2015.

The charges allege that from July through December, 2012, Dance actively negotiated and in December, 2012 signed, a no-bid contract between BCoPS and SUPES Academy, LLC, while working for SUPES and related company Synesi Associates, LLC.

Count I alleges that on his Financial Disclosure Form covering 2012, filed under oath in 2013, Dance falsely reported that he had no interest in any companies during 2012 and that he had no sources of earned income other than BCoPS, when in truth he owned Deliberate Excellence Consulting, LLC and was personally paid $ 500.00 by SUPES and $13,500.00 from Synesi.

During 2013, it is alleged that Dance was paid nearly $72,000.00 by Deliberate Excellence Consulting, for services rendered by Dance to Synesi, City of Providence Public Schools and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Education Services. Count II alleges that on August 29, 2016, Dance amended his 2013 Financial Disclosure Statement, filing an addendum under oath stating that he earned no income from Deliberate Excellence Consulting during 2013.

It is alleged in Count III that Dance continued to own Deliberate Excellence Consulting, LLC, and personally had income of about $12,000.00 from other entities, yet reported under oath on his 2015 Financial Disclosure Statement, file in April, 2016, that he had no business ownership, and that he had no sources of earned income other than BCoPS and “DEC, LLC”.

Finally, Count IV alleges that in August, 2016, Dance amended his Financial Disclosure filing for 2015 by filing an addendum under oath stating that he earned nothing from Deliberate Excellence, LLC in 2015 although he received about $47,000.00 for services rendered by him through the company.

State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt stated: “Parents of Baltimore County Public students should be able to trust that their Superintendent of Schools is carrying out his duties, honestly, with transparency and in the best interests of the students and the schools. Any violation of that trust is intolerable.”

Although charged, the Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until there is a conviction.