Suzanne Farmer will be Hogsett Elementary School’s principal next year.

Farmer, the current assistant principal at the school, has lived in Danville for 15 years and has worked for 18 years as an educator.

The Hogsett council voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the job to Farmer, one of 10 applicants and three interviewed for the position.

“It’s not quite the same, but when my husband asked me to marry him, I said, ‘Of course,'” Farmer told the council members with a smile.

“This is what I want. It’s the work I believe in. It’s my town, my community. My kids are here. … It’s always been a dream of mine to do this work here in Danville.”

“I think you’re going to be a great advocate, not only for the staff, but for the students as well,” said Nicole McCane, a parent representative on the school council.

Superintendent Tammy McDonald said Farmer had the strongest interview of all three finalists for the position, which opened up after current Principal Leo Labrillazo announced plans to retire at the end of the school year.

“The council did a survey to really find out from parents and the staff here at Hogsett what they felt like were really characteristics of a strong principal. And Suzanne definitely exemplified all of those characteristics,” McDonald said.

Farmer spent four of her years working for Danville Schools on a special assignment of sorts, working for the Kentucky Department of Education. That gave her good experience collaborating across teams and districts, and in dealing with budgets, McDonald said.

Jerrica Funkhouser, a first-grade teacher on the council said it was clear from Farmer’s interview that she will look out for the best interests of the school.

Another council member, kindergarten teacher Dorthy Contini, said in addition to hiring Farmer as principal, there’s also a lot of excitement at Hogsett for next year, as the school moves back into its renovated and expanded school building on Waveland Avenue. “She will be a strong leader for our transition into our new space.”