Arroyo Grande High School has a new principal

Conan Bowers, assistant principal at Arroyo Grande High School, will lead the school starting in the upcoming school year.

The Lucia Mar Unified School District board voted unanimously to appoint Bowers as principal at a special meeting Thursday.

Bowers has worked at Arroyo Grande High for 10 years, first as an area administrator and most recently as assistant principal, and “has by all accounts been incredibly effective,” district Superintendent Jim Hogeboom wrote in an email to employees and local residents.

Bowers will succeed Tom Butler, who will become the district’s new assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction starting in the fall. Butler replaces Andy Stenson, who held that position four years and will become Mesa Middle School’s principal in the upcoming school year.

Butler has led the high school since fall 2011. In his new role, he will oversee the district’s state testing and summer school programs and serve as support for principals throughout the district.

Bowers previously taught sixth grade at Harloe Elementary before moving to the high school. Board members were impressed with Bowers’ work ethic, his knowledge of the high school and the community, his ability to relate to students and his support of high academic expectations, Hogeboom wrote.

This story was originally published June 7, 2013 at 7:47 AM with the headline "Arroyo Grande High School has a new principal."