Mashpee Selectman Calls For Superintendent To Be Placed On Leave

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Mashpee Superintedent of Schools Brian Hyde

MASHPEE – As Mashpee Schools Superintendent Brian Hyde faces trespassing allegations, one town official is calling on the school committee to place Hyde on paid administrative leave.

In a letter to the committee, Selectman Andrew Gottlieb said it has taken too long to establish an independent investigation into Hyde’s conduct during a residency check last month.

Gottlieb, who said his letter was sent as a private citizen and does not reflect the views of the board of selectmen as a whole, criticized how long it has taken for the committee to investigate the incident.

“We really don’t know anything more now than we knew 5 weeks ago. This incident is taking on larger and larger proportions and, in my view, is a distraction,” Gottlieb said. “I’m concerned that the longer this goes the greater the distraction and the more it’s going to hurt the kids in the schools.

The Cape and Islands district attorney’s office announced earlier this month that an application for a show cause hearing will be filed with a clerk magistrate on the charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor and trespass. The magistrate will determined whether Hyde will face charges.

The mother of a student alleges that Hyde trespassed into their home during his investigation.

Hyde previously issued a statement that the incident on September 29 was a routine residency check to determine whether a student, who had moved out of the district and then returned, was a resident of the town.

But the student’s mother, who had recently purchased a house on Windsor Way in Mashpee, said Hyde arrived at the home unannounced and entered uninvited to search her daughter’s room.