The St. Martin Parish School Board voted on Wednesday to extend Superintendent Allen Blanchard, Jr.'s contract for another two years.
At a regular board meeting, Blanchard acknowledged that he had not yet been evaluated by board members, as he was appointed in March 2019 after having been interim superintendent since the fall of 2018.
Blanchard was requesting an extension now due to the current pandemic, according to Teche Today.
Some board members expressed concerns over extending the superintendent's contract without an evaluation first, but others said that an evaluation after such a short period of time hasn't been done in years; typically, one board member said, the board goes 4-5 years before conducting an evaluation. Another member offered that the board wait until the evaluation is done, as teachers are evaluated every year. She said that it's simply to find ways the superintendent can improve.
Blanchard conceded that if the board wanted to evaluate him first and then revisit the issue next month, that would be acceptable, but added that he has been evaluated 29 times over the course of his career. But, he said, if he hadn't improved he wouldn't be where he is today.
Ultimately, the board decided to renew Blanchard's contract for another two years, but added that he must be evaluated by all voting members of the board if they so choose within two months.
His contract would have been up on June 30, 2021, but now will extend until June 30, 2023.
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