LAPLACE — Cory Butler, director of child welfare and attendance, will lead St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools forward as Interim Superintendent before a permanent replacement is hired.

He is filling the role previously held by Heidi Trosclair, who assumed the role of interim superintendent in June. At the time she was appointed, the School Board hoped to have a permanent superintendent in place by the end of the calendar year. However, that superintendent search process has since been extended.

Trosclair exited the position on Dec. 20, and today marks Butler’s first official day as interim superintendent. He will lead the school system through June 30, 2020, or until a permanent superintendent is named.

Though Butler was selected as the interim during the Dec. 12 School Board meeting in LaPlace, some Board members initially questioned whether the decision violated policy.

Patricia Triche, a longtime St. John Parish Public Schools employee, was the first person nominated for the interim superintendent position during the Dec. 12 meeting. The Board voted, and Triche received five yeas and four nays. Board member Phillip Johnson was absent, and Board member Shawn Wallace abstained from voting.

Noting that Triche’s five votes did not represent the majority of the 11-person School Board, members then voted for the second nominee, Cory Butler. With seven yeas, three nays and one absent, Butler was congratulated as the new interim superintendent.

The next day, School Board President Patrick Sanders sent a letter requesting a legal opinion from the St. John District Attorney’s Office. Given Wallace’s abstention, Board members were uncertain whether the five yeas to name Triche interim superintendent represented a majority vote.

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the District Attorney’s Office returned a legal opinion signed and dated by District Attorney Bridget A. Dinvaut and Assistant District Attorney Keith Green. The opinion confirmed that the School Board did NOT violate its own policy by appointing Butler.

According to the legal opinion, “The first motion to appoint an Interim Superintendent failed, for lack of receiving at least six (6) affirmative votes, as required by Board policy BCB(3)(B). As such, the second motion, having received seven (7) affirmative votes, passed.”

Board Policy BCB(3)(B), reinstated during the regular meeting on Aug. 15, 2019, specifies, “Any motion of the School Board shall be deemed valid only upon a favorable vote of a majority of the members of the total School Board taken at a meeting that is properly noticed in accordance with Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law.”

Butler is eager to meet with school stakeholders and make decisions to best impact the children of the District.

“I would like to say thank you guys for the opportunity,” Butler said. “We have a lot of work to do, so let’s get at it.”

The permanent superintendent search process will continue through the spring, according to School Board member Ali Burl. The School Board is in the process of submitting RFQs to firms to conduct a national search.

Board members voted to restart the superintendent search process during the Nov. 20 special meeting after Dr. Quentina Timoll, the finalist with the most consensus among board members, resigned as a candidate.

Burl anticipates the new superintendent applications will come in between March and April, and interviews will be conducted based on candidate availability.

Board members and audience members thanked Trosclair for her dedication over the past several months.

“I have a long history in this district that goes back to LaPlace Elementary,” Trosclair said. “I have taught and I have supervised, and now I have helped to run the district. It’s going in a great direction. I have been pleased and proud to serve.”