Portal Elementary School, Langston Chapel Elementary and Mattie Lively Elementary will have new principals beginning July 1.

Bulloch County Schools Superintendent Charles Wilson announced the leadership changes Friday for the 2024-2025 school year, according to a release from the school district. 
At Portal, principal Carolyn Vasilatos, Ed.D., will retire at the end of the school year after 29 years as an educator, including 24 in Bulloch County. Prior to becoming principal at Portal Elementary in 2019, Vasilatos was principal at Mattie Lively Elementary for nine years and was at Julia P. Bryant Elementary as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher for 10 years.

Succeeding Vasilatos in Portal will be Dr. Nate Pennington, who has been principal at Langston Chapel Elementary since 2021. Pennington has been with Bulloch County Schools for 27 years, including seven as principal of Nevils Elementary and Julia P. Bryant Elementary prior to that.

Al Dekle, principal at Mattie Lively Elementary since 2021, will take over as principal of Langston Chapel Elementary on July 1.  
The school district is already looking for a new principal to take over Mattie Lively in July.

“As a routine procedure in preparation for potential principal vacancies, the district posted a generic principal vacancy in mid-December,” school district Public Relations Director Hayley Greene said in the release. “This will allow the district to move forward immediately in the hiring process for a principal at Mattie Lively Elementary School.”

According to the release, principal contracts are scheduled to be renewed by May 15, but no further changes are planned by the superintendent. Principals will continue to serve in their current roles through June 30. The school district’s new fiscal year begins July 1.