NYC Teacher Paid $192K for Unbuilt School

A 33-year-old New York City educator continues to draw a principal-level salary of $192,374 for a school that never opened. Caleb Haraguchi-Combs was promoted in January to project director of the proposed Next Generation Technology High School in the Financial District. The role carried a $50,000 raise over his previous pay of $141,960. Despite the high compensation, the institution has not been approved or built.

Chancellor Kamar Samuels rejected the school proposal in April. The cancellation followed public criticism of the plan’s merit-based admissions policy and concerns about integrating artificial intelligence into the curriculum. Haraguchi-Combs remained on the payroll at the higher rate even after the project was scrapped. Public records show he previously served as assistant principal at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem. A representative for that school confirmed he no longer works there.

The Department of Education states that Haraguchi-Combs is currently developing new proposals and supporting existing ones. A DOE insider disputed this characterization of his duties. The source noted that principals who do not open their schools are typically demoted back to assistant principal unless they have tenure. Because Haraguchi-Combs never officially served as a principal, he could not have established tenure. The source argued that officials should not have named him to the role before the school received approval.

The discrepancy in his status became public through a letter sent in October to DOE leadership. The letter was written by anonymous Manhattan high school principals who requested an investigation into Superintendent Gary Beidleman. The group cited organizational dysfunction and the retention of Haraguchi-Combs as key concerns. DOE insiders described the situation as a waste of taxpayer resources. They questioned why he was not reassigned to another school in need of leadership, noting that opportunities to appoint principals existed throughout the year.

Haraguchi-Combs maintains a separate career as a rapper under the name Cal Combs. He describes himself as half hip-hop artist and half English teacher. His 2017 album, titled Carmel, references his time living in Indiana. The musician began his education career in Tokyo in 2015 as an English teacher according to his professional profile. Zilvinas Silenas, president of The Empire Center for Public Policy, criticized the compensation package. He stated that earning nearly $200,000 for a position that does not exist is an insult to taxpayers who have never reached that income level.