By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT–With one board member absent and the chair phoning in, the school board voted 6-0 to keep the status quo when it comes to board officers.

Democrat Lee Goldstein will remain chair. Republican Dorie Hordon will remain vice chair and Democrat Neil Phillips will remain as secretary of the seven-member panel.

Board Member Andy Frankel was absent from the meeting and Goldstein, who said she broke her wrist just before Thanksgiving, attended the meeting remotely via phone.

As is custom, Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice ran the organizational portion of the meeting.

There were no speeches during the nominations, but Phillips nominated Goldstein and Goldstein nominated Hordon. 

Goldstein and Phillips are both midway through their four-year terms.

Goldstein has been on the board since 2019 and its chair since 2021. Phillips, who came on the board in 2021 to fill a vacancy, was immediately named its secretary.

Hordon, who was reelected in November, has been vice chair since 2023.

“I just wanted to say congratulations to the newly elected officers. The board is in incredible hands,” said Elaine Whitney, a member of the Board of Finance and former member of the school board.

Linda Conner Lambeck

^{_{Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.}}