By Dan Murphy
Scarsdale Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman resigned his post on May 6, two months before his expected departure to take a post at an elite private school in Chicago. Haberman was able to stay in his current position for several months after news broke earlier this year of a $1.7 Million error made by the Scarsdale School District in payroll taxes.
The news of the IRS blunder was made public at the Scarsdale Board of Education’s March 30 meeting. Underpayment of payroll taxes for staff in the Scarsdale School District during the 2020 and 2021 years, and penalties and interest from the IRS resulted in the Board agreeing to pay $843,558 for 2020 payroll taxes owed.
But residents in Scarsdale were outraged at the errors and already paying among the highest property taxes in Westcheter, and in the country, were reluctant to pay the $1.7 IRS fine for someone’s incompetence inside the school districts adminstrative offices.
Despite the pubilc’s demand for answers at to how did these costly errors occurred, and when was the school distrit notified by the IRS of the massive error, and how come the school district’s auditors didn’t catch the error, no answers were forthcoming at the end of March and nobody in Scarsdale has been provided any answers on May 6, when Hagerman was forced to resign.
Hagerman was going to leave Scarsdale to take the position as Head of the Latin School in Chicago, which pays $750,000 per year. He currently makes $450,000 per year in Scarsdale. His contract included a 12-month notification clause alerting the school board of his departure. Hagerman never gave the one year notice, which could have played into his early departure. Also no word on whether the IRS scandal will play a role in his new job in Chicago.
Published reports allege that Hagerman and his administration “covered up” the details about the IRS bomb for 10 months.
On May 6, after an executive session, Scarsdale Vice-President Amber Yusuf announced Hagerman’s resignation. Yusuf read a statement from Hagerman, which stated “… the IRS issue has become a distraction to that work. Although I have already resigned my position as superintendent of schools effective June 30, I now feel it is best to do so more immediately in order for the district to keep its focus on students and a successful ending to the school year. It has been a privilege to work on behalf of Scarsdale’s children and youth and alongside so many outstanding administrators, faculty and staff.”
The school board immediately hired Assistant superintendent for human resources and leadership development Dr. Drew Patrick to serve as interim Superintendent for the upcoming 2022-23 school year at a salary of $300,000 effective May 7.
Another unanswered question that residents in Scarsdale have is how could there not be a massive property tax increase as a result of the IRS troubles. At the March 30 meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Stuart Mattay said, “We are in ongoing negotiations with the IRS and we have already met with our legal counsel. There is no timeframe for an IRS decision. We might not have a decision even in time for the 2023-24 school budget. The district has a right to appeal. The financial impact would be to our unreserved fund balance and will have no impact on our current budget. This will be a footnote in our financial statement.” Mattay added that the $843,558 payment due to the IRS would be kept on the books as an account receivable until an appearl and final determination can be made.
Scarsdale residents commenting publicly include Robert Berg who called the whole affair “a major cover-up.”
Scarsdale resident and Westchester Assemblymember Amy Paulin called the IRS error, “unheard of, and unconscionable. I wasn’t surprised he was leaving, but this is beyond the pale.”
Published reports have Hagerman sending a misleading letter to the Latin School regarding the IRS errors in Scarsdale. Hagerman was forced to admit that he misquoted Scarsdale Board President Karen Ceske.
News of Hagerman’s troubles in Scarsdale had reached Chicago prior to his inaccurate letter of resignation. The other question that an independent counsel hired by the Scarsdale BOE will determine is how early did Hagerman know about the payroll errors that led to the $1.7 IRS fine.
Hagerman’s contract was extended in Scarsdale in June 2021. Reports claim that the school district knew about the IRS lein around that same time.
Publicly, the Latin School offered its “full and ongoing support” to Hagerman.
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