Board approves principal selection

• By JAMES MINTON
• Advocate Baker - Zachary bureau
• Published: Jun 26, 2009 - Page: 4B

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ZACHARY — The Zachary Community School Board on Thursday accepted Superintendent Warren Drake’s recommendation to appoint Scott Devillier as principal of Zachary High School.

Devillier has been the district’s supervisor of school and home relations. He will take over from Donald Ray Thomas, who came out of retirement following the resignation of Principal Kevin Lemoine in January.

The board also approved Drake’s recommendation to name Central High basketball coach Wes Watts as one of Devillier’s assistants and Redemptorist High athletic director Elson “Joey” Sanchez as the Zachary athletic director.

Sanchez succeeds Alan Walls, who resigned effective July 2.

Trudy Johnson also was promoted from teacher to assistant principal at Zachary Elementary School.

Devillier, employed in the district for seven years, served in the central office for a year.

“I just had to get back to the children, and that’s why I’m going back to Zachary High School,” Devillier said.

“I will not don the (Central) maroon again,” Watts joked, showing the board a tie in Zachary’s blue and scarlet school colors.

In other action, the board approved the budgets for the next school year and renewed a contract with the private firm, First Student, to provide transportation services for the district.

The budget anticipates revenue and expenditures totaling $45.9 million, with the general fund budget set at $42 million in revenue and $41.5 in expenses.

The board also set the 2009 property tax levies at last year’s rate, a total of 69.2 mills.

Of the total, a 36-mill tax is dedicated to repaying $89 million in bonds voters approved for school construction.

Business Manager Gordon Robertson said First Student agreed to charge the same rate for each bus route as it did last school year and agreed to phase in air-conditioned buses, starting with 15 in the coming school year.