Board of Education incumbent Phil Hogan, a Republican, is seeking re-election. The GOP holds a 6-3 majority on the nine-member school board. Five seats are up for election: three currently held by Republicans, two by Democrats. There are three Republicans and three Democrats running for Board of Ed.
Here’s our exchange with Hogan.
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New Canaanite: Please give us some background on you, including your history in New Canaan and your involvement with community organizations and/or local government/New Canaan Public Schools.
Phil Hogan
Phil Hogan: My wife and I have lived in New Canaan for nearly ten years. We have four kids in the New Canaan Public Schools…a 9th grade daughter at New Canaan High School, a 7th grade son at Saxe Middle School, a 5th grade son at Saxe Intermediate School, and a 3rd grade son at South School. I was elected to the Board of Education (BOE) in 2021 and currently serve as the Vice Chair. I also served in that capacity during my second year on the BOE. In addition to my BOE role, I’ve coached a variety of youth sports over the years including soccer, softball, basketball and flag football, and I continue to coach tackle football and baseball.
What are your thoughts about the way curriculum is developed for New Canaan Public Schools and what changes, if any, would you make to the process?
Early in my tenure, we talked about more involvement from the Board and potentially other esteemed community members in the Curriculum Leadership Council (CLC). Back in 2021, there was fear amongst many parents that New Canaan was going to deviate from its long-time winning formula and adopt a more cultural-trendy but less rigorous curriculum. Now that that time has passed, and I’ve gotten a bird’s eye view into the incredible work done by Dr. Luizzi and the CLC, I don’t believe any changes are warranted to the curriculum development process.
To what extent, if at all, will your party’s national agenda affect your decision-making at the local level?
I have to confess I’m not exactly sure what my party’s national agenda is for education. School vouchers and the abolition of the Department of Education? I’m skeptical of the latter given my small government roots, and in favor of the former and anything that helps rescue inner city kids from failing schools. But I don’t know how applicable either topic is to New Canaan. I guess my party is considered fairly patriotic and civics-oriented, so I’d say that school events and themes that build connections amongst students and appreciation to our community and country are always a good prescription.
What are your thoughts on the proposed North School? In your view, what are the upsides to that project? What are the red flags, if any?
The upsides to the proposed North School are that we can rightsize our schools in a variety of ways, including moving the fifth grade back to the elementary schools, which I think would be fairly popular and could result in a slight uptick in enrollment at Saxe. A hypothetical North school would also reduce the student populations at our at respective elementary schools, which are all operating at or over capacity and have no room for an enrollment bump. Moving our administrative Central office into Saxe from 220 Elm is another domino that would potentially fall, as Saxe would have capacity to house those folks if we moved the 5th grade back to the elementary level. Downstream from those structural moves, we’d see some transportation-related upside with shorter bus routes, less traffic and potentially a two-tiered school start time construct. I don’t know that I would say there are any red flags regarding a hypothetical North School, but building and renovating schools certainly isn’t a cheap endeavor. Especially when the state of Connecticut only reimburses a fraction of the cost. So we need to be cognizant of that and the many New Canaan taxpayers during these discussions.
What is your single most proud accomplishment on the Board of Education?
The safe answer here is school security. Who can’t get behind that?! Or perhaps my presence on a handful of search committees for leadership roles within the district. But the real, more personal answer is my daily advocacy on behalf of New Canaan kids and families during COVID times. Whether it was sending a letter to Governor Lamont, urging the district to unmask and return to normal, or taking inventory of all the learning loss and peripheral damage that was done to New Canaan kids, I’m incredibly proud of where my priorities were during such a chaotic time. Frankly, it’s why I ran for the Board in 2021.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.
In a previous lifetime I was a capable squash and paddle tennis player. These days I’m an old man with a multitude of nagging injuries clinging to racket sports relevancy!
Good Morning,
While I have been a Republican my entire life, sadly, I must disagree with Mr. Hogan’s comment about no Red Flags.
Here are three:
1. There was no RFP for consultants due the the BOE policy 3300 which exempts professional services. This means we must bid out a small $10K project but not a $125,00o contract with school consultants. Can you imagine being handed a $125, 000 contract with no competition?
2. Considering the above, apparently no one has uncovered the 25 page document in Town Hall, from Verizon and Verizon’s outside counsel, which absolutely, legally and environmentally, undermines development on the Clark Property. We could have saved $125,00o had everyone read that document.
3. $300 Million for school projects? There goes New Canaan’s AAA rating and here comes increases in real estate taxes to pay for principal, interest and higher operating costs in perpetuity. Future home buyers will be scared off too by the higher expense base this further obviating an impractical proposal.
It is time to hit the brakes and have a true independent analysis of existing capacity, demand, and realistic alternatives. Many are convinced expansion, if any, will be overwhelmingly less expensive. On its face, this $300 Million proposal does not make sense.