Superintendent to retire next school year

St. Mary Parish Public Schools Superintendent Leonard Armato announced Tuesday that he will retire from his position effective June 30, 2019.

Armato has served as superintendent since June 2015 and worked in the St. Mary Parish school system for 33 years. In addition to serving as superintendent, he worked as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal and supervisor.

“I have much confidence that St. Mary Parish Schools will continue its remarkable growth and success moving forward,” Armato said in a news release. “Despite a tough economy and dwindling funds, we have maintained annual growth, instituted effective programs, and provided a wide variety of learning opportunities for all students.”

Armato thanked everyone involved in the school system for their help in raising school performance scores to the highest district performance score in the history of the school district.

With the announcement, Armato hopes to give the board ample time to advertise, interview and find a suitable replacement. This should allow his successor to be a part of creating the annual budget, making administrative appointments and planning for the upcoming 2019-20 school year, he said.