Typically, to be named a principal at a school, the school needs to be open first. That wasn’t the case in New York this year. In January 2026, Next Generation Technology High School hired Caleb Haraguchi-Combs to be the “project director.”
Despite the school not even existing yet, the New York Post reports that Haraguchi-Combs earned a $50,000 raise to principal-level compensation. In most cases, the project director of a school that is still under construction becomes the new school’s principal. What’s different about this scenario is that the planned school has been denied.
The proposed school, Next Generation Technology High School, would be located in the Financial District of New York. It would focus on artificial intelligence and computer tech. The new school has never been approved, and New York Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels shot down the proposal in April 2026. The proposed school received significant backlash due to fear of AI and its “merit-based admissions model.”
Who Is Haraguchi-Combs?
Aside from being an educator by day, Haraguchi-Combs is a rapper at night. Under the stage name Cal Combs, he has released two rap albums. In 2017, his album Carmel was named after a city in Indiana where Haraguchi-Combs once lived. It tells the story of a drug deal in the area, from which he had to flee due to gunfire. In another song, “Roundabout”, the song focuses on drug use and excessive drinking.
Previously, Haraguchi-Combs was an assistant principal at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem. According to public records reported by The Post, Haraguchi-Combs made $141,960 a year in this role. Despite the school not even existing yet, Haraguchi-Combs received a $50,000 raise when accepting the role. This has been particularly frustrating for the Department of Education, as it has been an excessive waste of taxpayer money.
The DOE has questioned, “What was the plan? There are a lot of schools that could use a principal; there are opportunities to appoint principals since then, it’s a huge waste of resources.” They also added, “Unless a principal has tenure, they get bumped back to AP if their schools don’t open.” They also claim Haraguchi-Combs should have “never named a principal before the school was approved.”
New York Post tracked down Haraguchi-Combs, spotting him outside his high-ride in Brooklyn. In this confrontation, Haraguchi-Combs refused to say where he worked.
Photo credit: LinkedIn/CalebCombs
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