The Boston Public Schools has implemented a hiring freeze in the face of a projected $53 million budget gap for the current fiscal year, as the school superintendent rakes in nearly $400,000.

BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper said Friday that there’s been a pause on all district hiring, aside from positions that provide direct service to students.

“At a time when districts across the Commonwealth and nation have been forced to take abrupt measures, Boston Public Schools is taking a thoughtful, measured approach focused on responsible financial management and maintaining high-quality instruction and classroom supports,” Skipper said in a statement.

“Beginning in November, the district implemented central office spending reductions and a pause on hiring while it reviewed vacancies. It has since become necessary to expand this pause on spending and hiring district-wide, unless the position supports direct service to our students,” the superintendent added.

In a separate memo sent to staff Thursday, Skipper said this fiscal year’s budget shortfall requires “immediate action and a strategic plan to address it.”

BPS officials said the projected $53 million budget gap fiscal year 2026 is largely driven by four factors, some of which are beyond the district’s direct control.

The district cited a projected $17 million overage in health insurance costs, which it said is consistent with districts and municipalities across Massachusetts and national insurance trends.

BPS officials also pointed to a $17 million overage in salary and other benefits, which includes $11.5 million due to a 1% increase in fill rate; $3 million from bus monitors, primarily driven by overtime pay; $1.5 million in per diem substitutes; and $1 million from medicare costs.

The district also pointed to a $13 million overage in transportation costs, driven by higher bus utilization with more runs per morning and afternoon shifts, along with inflation in maintenance costs.

The final factor the district said is driving the budget shortfall is $6 million in out of district special education tuition costs.

BPS officials said the only positions being impacted by the hiring freeze are “non-student facing positions as these vacancies are not being filled.”

Teachers and paraprofessionals are among the “student-facing” positions excluded from the hiring freeze.

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“BPS is committed and focused on managing without layoffs or sudden school-level disruptions, maintaining stability and continuity for classrooms and students,” a BPS spokesperson said.

The School Committee in March approved a $1.58 billion BPS budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Skipper saw a roughly 15% pay hike approved by the School Committee in October, bringing her total compensation to $393,943 for the 2025-26 school year.

The superintendent’s salary consists of $324,643 in base pay, a $60,000 annuity, $7,800 for transportation costs and $1,500 for dental care.

By comparison, Mayor Michelle Wu is being paid $250,000 this year.