Retired Natick Principal is Interim Pick at the Regional

The former principal at , who retired in 2010, will be the interim principal at for the coming school year.

John Hughes worked for the Natick public schools for more than 40 years – the last eight as principal. Peter Gray, interim superintendent of the , made the announcement on Tuesday.

Hughes takes over for Matt Fox, who left to become principal at in Marblehead. For the past few years, Fox served as both the principal at the high school and . Hughes will lead just the high school.

Gray said during the interview process, Hughes said “he has missed the challenges of school administration and is excited to contribute as leader of HWRHS.”

Hughes is a Natick native who graduated from Natick High School in 1966. He’s also worked as a basketball and baseball coach.

“We are very fortunate to be able to acquire the skills and experience John will bring to the district and look forward to him becoming a member of our leadership team,” Gray said.

Gray did not announce how much Hughes will be paid.

The search for an interim high school principal began in mid-June after Gray announced that .

The decision , who showed up at the School Committee meeting and confronted Gray, questioning why he chose an interim principal over a permanent pick. Gray said, among other things, that he felt the new, .

Gray is serving an interim superintendent this year until a permanent superintendent is selected. That search has not begun.