In Iberia Parish, a big announcement coming from the school board office.
Superintendent Carey Laviolette said she will retire when he contract ends on June 30th.
When the announcement came late last week some board members said they were caught off guard.
"I didn't see it coming," said District 12 Board Member Rev. Arthur Alexander. "It caught the majority of us by surprise."
Now, for the rest of the school year, board members will be tasked with something they weren't anticipating.
The board said it would like to have the new superintendent in place months before Laviolette leaves.
"By March maybe we'll have someone," said District 1 board member Nursey McNeal. "No later than April we'll have someone hopefully."
For parents and students, board members said Laviolette's departure won't change anything over the next few months.
The board, however, is already busy discussing what it will need in a new superintendent and what the next school year could look like.
"There's going to be quite a few challenges for the new superintendent that's going to be put in place," said McNeal.
They have already decided it would be most beneficial to find a qualified candidate who is already familiar with the school board and Iberia Parish schools.
They're also hoping this new person can learn a thing or two from Superintendent Laviolette.
"Ms. Laviolette was a great superintendent. She had great leadership skills and everything. So hopefully the new superintendent will have the same skills; leadership, communication skills, you know that's very important," said McNeal.
"They'll have an idea of what's working, what's not working, what changes need to be made and be strong enough to make changes for the betterment of the system," said Rev. Alexander.
The entire board will meet on January 19th.
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