Whitman-Hanson superintendent resigns amid backlash over job cuts

Education

The superintendent of the regional school district announced in November that 23 staff members would be let go due to a budget deficit.

By Darin Zullo

January 4, 2026 | 11:14 AM

2 minutes to read

The superintendent of the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District has resigned following backlash surrounding job cuts announced in November.

Jeffrey Szymaniak, the superintendent, resigned effective Thursday, according to a district statement obtained by NBC10. Dr. John Marcus, principal of Duval Elementary School, has stepped in as acting superintendent while the district searches for Szymaniak’s successor.

“Mr. Szymaniak dedicated his professional life to education and served the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District with distinction in multiple roles,” the school committee said in the statement Friday. “He first served as Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School from 2010 to 2018, then as Superintendent of Schools for the past 7 1/2 years.”

In mid-October, administrators learned that the district had a budget deficit of about $1.39 million. At a Nov. 5 school committee meeting, Szymaniak described the deficit as “unprecedented” and called the situation a “crisis.”

Community members expressed outrage at the meeting due to plans to cut staff and a perceived lack of transparency. Szymaniak said he should have been more communicative and was working with state officials to address the deficit.

“I hear the anger and disappointment, I feel that,” he said at the meeting. “I became the superintendent to serve, to lead with honesty, integrity, and care for the people who make our schools what they are. And in this instance, I fell short of that standard.”

Later that month, 23 staff members were let go from the district, including five teachers, two long-term substitute teachers, 11 paraprofessionals, and five non-union staff members. Officials announced Nov. 16 that reduction-in-force notifications had been sent to the staff members and that the decisions were not based on performance.

In response, the Whitman-Hanson Education Association issued a vote of no confidence in Szymaniak. The announcement also prompted hundreds of high school students to walk out of class the next day in protest.

“Our teachers, paraprofessionals, and other impactful staff are being let go due to the incautious decisions made by the superintendent and his staff in the upper office,” walkout organizers said in an Instagram post. “We will protest for our teachers and staff with the goal of either making budget cuts elsewhere or the immediate resignation of Superintendent Jeff Szymanak and Assistant Superintendent George Ferro.”