Schools CFO To Retire After 54 Years

Schools Chief Financial Officer Linda Hannans will be retiring after spending five decades working for the city’s public school district.

Supt. Madeline Negrón announced Hannans’ retirement during the Board of Education’s regular Monday meeting at John Martinez School. She joined board members in thanking Hannans for her service and dedication to New Haven Public Schools (NHPS).

Hannans first began working for NHPS when she was 14 and attending Wilbur Cross. She started as a student intern and moved up from there. She went on to teach adult education part-time, while she was also attending college part-time and working a full-time job. 

June marks 54 years of working for NHPS for Hannans. Before stepping into her current role as chief financial officer, she worked as a Finance Department accountant clerk, accountant, supervisor of finance, and central office business director, and she oversaw the district’s Title l grants. 

“She has made significant contributions to our district,” Negrón said. ​“We will be losing a wealth of institutional knowledge.”

She said that the district hopes to post the CFO job opening and hire Hannans’ replacement before her departure, so that Hannans herself can onboard the new staffer. 

Hannans’ retirement will be effective June 30. 

After Monday’s meeting, Hannans said that she has been working her whole life, and that she is ready to ​“just take a break and rest.” She said she looks forward to having more time to herself and to spend with her grandkids. 

She said she’ll miss working daily with the finance team and district leaders. When asked what about her work she’s most proud, she said, ​“I kept my integrity and stayed true to my path — the one that’s focused on the kids and not falling into any politics.” She’s also proud that there are now several staffers in the district’s central office who she once mentored. 

Several board members thanked Hannans for her decades of work and her support of them.