School super candidates thinned; interviews Saturday

Candidates for St. Mary Superintendent of Schools were pared down to five contenders Tuesday.
The school board met in a brief special meeting where they agreed to choose five applicants by ballot of those board members present.
The board also agreed to vote to break a tie if it occurred.
After filling out paper ballots which were tabulated by legal counsel Eric Duplantis and interim Superintendent Teresa T. Bagwell, the order that the finalists would be interviewed was chosen by random drawing.
They were, in drawn order:
—Ricky Armelin, 10 votes, St. Mary Parish Schools director of human resources with 27½ years of experience
—James Gray, 5 votes, director of school leadership in Vermilion Parish with 20 years of experience
—Peter Boudreaux, 10 votes, St. Mary Parish Schools instructional supervisor of secondary education with 27 years of experience
—Leonard Armato, 10 votes, St. Mary Parish Schools supervisor of special services with 29 years of experience
—Aubrey Orgeron, 6 votes, director of secondary education in Lafourche Parish with 22.½ years of experience
Interviews with those candidates will be held in executive session Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at the Central Office Complex in Centerville. Interviews were limited to 45 minutes by board vote.