HANSON, Mass. — Just three weeks into the job, the now acting superintendent of Whitman-Hanson public schools, Dr. John Marcus, is busy at work, trying to pick up the pieces from a budget deficit debacle.
Dr. John Marcus has a long career in education, including stints as Stoughton’s superintendent and Sharon’s assistant superintendent.
He most recently served as the principal of Duval Elementary in Whitman starting in 2024.
Whitman-Hanson’s superintendent, Jeff Szymaniak, stepped down at the turn of the new year after facing backlash over a $1.4 million budget deficit that led to widespread district cuts, including two dozen paraprofessionals and teachers being cut.
[ Whitman-Hanson teachers’ jobs on the line amid $1.39 million budget deficit ]
Emotions from parents and students ran high this Fall in light of the personnel cuts to multiple schools.
With experience in overseeing budgets and leading a district, he volunteered to step into Szymaniak’s role.
“This is not something I planned,” he told Boston 25 news reporter Daniel Coates exclusively on Wednesday. “It’s been nonstop every day.”
Marcus said he is working on solidifying the FY2026 budget so that the FY2027 budget doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
As principal of Duval Elementary, he was forced to lay off 11 paraprofessionals and staff.
“I think it was tough for all of us,” he said. “Our friends, our colleagues have been moved all over the place or don’t have positions anymore... We have to do what’s best for the kids.”
Three weeks into the job, he said they’re still trying to “Figure out what went wrong. Figure out what we’re spending now. And figure out how we put something together for 2027 that is actually going to be stable and work.”
He continued, “This is incredibly painful. This is really hard. But our kids only have one shot at it. So, we just have to do it.”
Marcus is preparing to present the reworked budget to the district alongside the school committee on February 4th.
He told Boston 25 that he plans to retire in a year, or at the end of the school calendar next year.
In the meantime, he’s been meeting with school leaders, students, and teachers. He said his door is open to anyone and everyone as the dust settles from the budget crisis.
“We got this,” he said. “People need to feel recognized, supported, and heard, so that we feel better about who we are as a district, and we feel stronger as a community so that we can move forward.”
Marcus told Boston 25 he hopes to hand the district off to another superintendent better than when he found it.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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