Patrick G. Harrigan named new superintendent of Patchogue-Medford district

The Patchogue-Medford school board has selected Patrick G. Harrigan as the district's new superintendent following a monthslong search for a permanent leader.

Harrigan, who has more than 25 years of experience in education administration, will replace interim Superintendent Lori Cannetti, who has been leading the district since last summer.

Harrigan is expected to take over on July 1. He will be paid $280,000 annually over the course of a three-year contract, according to the district.

"I really see this role as much more than the policies and fiscal responsibilities," Harrigan said after he was presented to the community at a school board meeting Monday night. "I really see the stewardship. I really see it as this very solemn oath to really take care of our students, to work with our faculty, to support our community."

Patchogue-Medford is one of Long Island’s largest school districts. It served about 7,400 students in 2024-25; about half the student body was Hispanic, while a third was white, according to state data.

The district had hired a consulting firm to assist with the search for a permanent leader after Superintendent Donna Jones retired last year. It received 31 applications for the position, according to the district's website.

“This comprehensive process incorporated input from all stakeholders and led us to an accomplished educational administrator with extensive experience and enthusiasm who we believe will passionately support our district’s values, opportunities, and success," school board president Kelli Anne Jennings said in a statement.

Harrigan has worked as the executive director of curriculum and instruction for Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District since 2024. He was the superintendent of the Half Hollow Hills Central School District from 2017 to 2024, and before that he was the district's deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent, according to a release from the Patchogue-Medford district.

Harrigan also has worked in the Farmingdale and Miller Place school districts.

Jones, who had been superintendent since 2020, announced in February 2025 that she would retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year — a year before her contract was set to expire.

Her announcement came shortly after she faced backlash for a letter responding to a Trump administration directive allowing federal immigration agents to carry out enforcement activity in "sensitive" places like schools, Newsday has reported.

In her letter, Jones had said the district would not permit law enforcement on school grounds "for the purpose of detaining, arresting, or questioning unless such access is related to an alleged crime occurring on school grounds, or pursuant to a warrant, or a court order," Newsday previously reported.

A district spokesman had said the timing of her retirement announcement was coincidental. Jones said at the time that "it just felt right that this would be the time for me to step down, pass the mantle to new district leadership."