SAUGUS — With Superintendent of Schools Erin McMahon on paid administrative leave and Mike Hashem serving as acting superintendent in her stead, the town’s public schools have been paying two people to serve as superintendent for more than six months now.
McMahon announced she was taking paid administrative leave on the evening of Jan. 19 — a decision her lawyer has said was prompted by an indication from the School Committee she would be placed on leave if she did not take it herself. Hashem, a math teacher and former Saugus High School principal, was appointed to serve as acting superintendent two weeks later. Since that time, Hashem has been earning a stipend of $750 a day, while McMahon, now in the third year of a five-year contract, continues to collect her salary of $196,000.
As of Aug. 15, Hashem has been paid $89,625 to serve as acting superintendent. His per diem rate is good for a salary of $195,750. Hashem did not respond when asked how much more he is making as an acting superintendent than as a math teacher.
Throughout the last six months, the district has paid close to $200,000 to two people to do the job of superintendent of schools. It is unclear exactly how long McMahon’s leave will go on, and how much longer Hashem will continue to stand in as acting superintendent. McMahon’s attorney, Michael Long, said the School Committee has not investigated her, instead turning the investigation over to Town Manager Scott Crabtree, who technically has no legal authority to do so.
McMahon’s leave was announced just one week after she presented a $32.8 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which the committee later voted down. The committee then, after at least one meeting with Crabtree, slashed $1.2 million from the budget, stripping it down to essentially only the money needed to begin operations this fall.
School Committee Chairman Vincent Serino cited open positions when asked how the district, amid a challenging budget year that saw spiking McKinney-Vento costs, can afford to pay two superintendent salaries.
“There’s always unforeseen costs that you have to deal with in a school budget,” he said. “Right now, it’s like anything else, trying to make do with what we have. We need someone to fill that position until we finalize whatever we’re doing.”
Serino praised Executive Director of Finance and Administration Pola Andrews, who he said “makes chicken salad out of chicken liver.”
“She does a great job,” he said.
In the months since taking leave, McMahon, through her attorney, has alleged that the School Committee violated her contract by failing to provide her with written notice of any concerns about her performance. As a result, she has initiated arbitration proceedings, and her case is set to be heard next month.
The School Committee has also declined to provide copies of the executive-session meeting minutes from Jan. 19 — when McMahon’s leave was announced — and May 30, when members apparently formally voted to place McMahon on leave.
Serino and other members of the committee have not commented publicly on McMahon’s status since her leave was announced on Jan. 19.
