ORANGE : District Official Named Principal

Roger Duthoy, assistant superintendent of secondary education for the Orange Unified School District, will take over as principal of El Rancho Middle School on July 1.

Duthoy will replace Neil Smith, who has been named principal of Richland Continuation High School. Smith, who takes over for Jerry Uffelman, served for 12 years as Richland’s principal before moving to El Rancho.

Both Duthoy and Uffelman were notified last month, along with La Veta Principal Eddie Salgado and Palmyra Principal Ewell Gunther, that their current contracts as district-level administrators would not be renewed.

The decision by school board trustees to demote the four men sparked a public outcry resulting in a movement to recall six of the seven board members.