An ex-principal at a Queens, New York high school who was allegedly involved in a scam to fraudulently hike up his school’s graduation rate will still get paid.
The New York Post reports that Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir was previously the principal for Maspeth High School—at least until July 2021, when he was prohibited from his former role. Instead, the Department of Education will continue to pay him for the next seven years, for a total of $1.8 million.
Being barred from working with city students is part of his settlement for misconduct charges. Still, he will keep his $187,043 yearly salary, and receive pay raises that are meant for principals. Additionally, his paid vacations and holidays will remain in tact, as well as his health and retirement benefits. Coming in at $78,558 every year, those costs, coupled with his salary, bring him to $1.8 million.
An investigation launched by the Special Commissioner of Investigation discovered that as principal, Abdul-Mutakabbir forged classes, gave credits to students who were failing, and bettered students’ grades as a way to get them out of the school. The recommendation was that he be fired, but instead, in January, the DOE fined him $12K and said he could no longer work as a principal. The 47-year-old, who is set to “irrevocably” retire, will still get paid until that point.
Under Abdul-Mutakabbir’s scheme, Maspeth won a federal Blue Ribbon Award in 2018 for its 99 percent graduation rate, which was a feather in the DOE’s cap. The investigation into the ex-principal took two years, with the DOE only making its decision last summer, and firing him for “inappropriate behavior.”
“Nothing is more absurd in city government than rewarding dishonesty and cheating,” City Councilman Robert Holden said after finding that Abdul-Mutakabbir only got a slap on the wrist.
Teachers who worked with Abdul-Mutakabbir said that he demanded teachers help their students pass whether they deserved it or not. An employee said that Abdul-Mutakabbir told them, “I don’t care if a kid shows up at 7:44 and you dismiss at 7:45—it’s your job to give that kid credit.”
The DOE first said it would hold a hearing to bring charges against Abdul-Mutakabbir, but abandoned the trial in the settlement.
