UPDATED: Lafayette hires Aguillard as next superintendent

Staff report
The Lafayette Parish School Board has voted unanimously to hire and begin contract negotiations with Donald Aguillard as its next superintendent.
The hiring came Wednesday after Aguillard, who is superintendent of St. Mary Parish Schools, and candidate Francis Touchet Jr., a network leader for the Louisiana Department of Education, were interviewed in public.
The vote came without public discussion and after the board met privately in executive session to discuss the work history and professional competency of both candidates.
Aguillard told the board he could start mid-May, pending contract negotiations, and that he’d like to begin attending board meetings and be involved in budget discussions as soon as possible.
Procedures on the hiring of a new superintendent were approved by the St. Mary Parish School Board Tuesday in a special meeting in preparation of Aguillard’s possible departure.
Actions Tuesday by the St. Mary school board to be prepared included:
—Approval to hire the Hammonds & Sills law firm on an as-needed basis during the superintendent search at the state regulated fee of $225 per hour, not to exceed $6,000.
—Approval to advertise for a superintendent search in the Banner-Tribune, Daily Review, Advocate and Advertiser as well as on the following websites of the school board, the state school board association and the state Association of School Superintendents.
—Approval of the timeline and publishing of the advertising.
—Approval of the application for superintendent.
Aguillard, 60, was “very, very excited about the unanimous vote in Lafayette for employment as superintendent,” he said.
“I’m very, very much appreciative of all of the hard work that’s been done in St. Mary Parish to support and enhance public education,” Aguillard said.
When Aguillard became superintendent of St. Mary Parish Schools in 2004, the district was in the bottom one-third of school districts in Louisiana, he said. Since then, school system leaders have moved the district up to become a B school district, Aguillard said.
The St. Mary Parish School System now promotes 84 percent of fourth-graders “through high-stakes testing,” he said. St. Mary Parish high schools now have an 81 percent graduation rate.
“Our entire educational system in St. Mary Parish has improved dramatically in 11 years, and it’s because of the cooperation of the principals, the teachers, the parents, the school board, the community and the kids,” Aguillard said.
“We’ve pulled ourselves up, and we have changed the perception of public education, and for that I will be always indebted to the hard work that’s gone into the time I’ve been superintendent here.”
Aguillard hopes to wrap up negotiations with Lafayette Parish School Board and give adequate notice to the St. Mary Parish School Board, he said. Ideally, Aguillard would like to be available to begin his job in Lafayette by mid-May but that might get pushed to late-May, he said.
In regard to the process of hiring a new superintendent in St. Mary Parish, Aguillard advised the board to choose wisely and continue to support successful programs the school system has implemented. Aguillard also encouraged the board to give the new superintendent a lot of support, as the board did with him.
On Tuesday, the St. Mary Parish School Board held a special meeting to discuss a possible new superintendent search. St. Mary Parish School Board President Ginger Griffin said the board voted to approve an advertisement, application and timeline to select a new superintendent. The board voted to employ Hammonds & Sills to assist with the superintendent search.
The board must wait until Aguillard submits his resignation before the board can begin advertising for the position, Griffin said.
As soon as Aguillard works out contract negotiations with the Lafayette Parish School Board, Griffin believes he will submit his resignation letter, she said.
The school board wants to find a new superintendent who will continue to push the parish academically, Griffin said.
“We’ve been grateful for Dr. Aguillard’s leadership and his dedication to the students here and the schools in St. Mary Parish,” Griffin said.
“We have to continue to be committed to providing our students with an educationally sound foundation as we have in the past,” Griffin said.