POUGHKEEPSIE – At a hastily organized meeting Wednesday afternoon, The Poughkeepsie City School District (PCSD) voted to hire former Middletown Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administration, Mike Tuttle, to replace Margarita Lekaj, the PCSD Assistant Superintendent of Business, who was escorted out of the district offices last week. PCSD Superintendent Greg Mott has not responded to a Mid-Hudson News request asking for the circumstances surrounding the departure of Lekaj and Treasurer Deborah Long, who was escorted out of the building with Lekaj.
As reported previously, several PCSD employees notified Mid-Hudson News that their paychecks had discrepancies in them over the last few pay periods, falling under Lekaj’s domain.
Tuttle, according to a letter from Superintendent Mott to PCSD faculty and staff, “brings more than 30 years of experience as an educational administrator, with a strong focus on strategic planning, fiscal management, and the technology needs of school districts our size.”
Tuttle is being compensated at a rate of $200,000 per year by the PCSD to serve as the Interim Assistant Superintendent of Business.
Tuttle, in 2023, was the second-highest paid employee of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, earning $284, 447. He left the district in August 2025 and then filed a lawsuit against the district in December, claiming that the district did not renew his contract because he had testified in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC )matter against the district. The lawsuit is pending.
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