Lawrence High School has announced a new athletic director and assistant principal.

After four years as a principal at Thomas More Prep Marion High School in Hays, Kan., Bill DeWitt said he is looking forward to his homecoming in Lawrence. After graduating from the University of Kansas, DeWitt taught and coached in Eudora and Tonganoxie.

The Budget reached him Friday after he was announced as the new assistant principal and athletic director:

How did you become aware of the position that was available at Lawrence High?

“I graduated from KU and lived in Lawrence for a while and then moved to Eudora, and I still have a lot of friends and colleagues in the area. I actually became aware of the job being open because of some friends pointing it out and because I do keep track of Lawrence, and I looked at the “Journal World” one day and saw Mr. [Ron] Commons was retiring, and once the job was posted online some friends forwarded it to me.”

What was the ultimate factor in making you decide to leave your job in Hays to return to Lawrence?

“Lawrence is my home. I didn’t grow up in Lawrence, but my wife and I got married in Lawrence, and we have three daughters, and they were all born in the community. We have always loved Lawrence, and I didn’t know that there would be an opportunity four years ago for me to have this position in Hays, and the school I’m leaving was actually the high school I graduated from, and we always had a real desire to get back to the Lawrence area at some point, and it just kind of worked out that this position was one that I am really looking forward to with Lawrence High. It just felt like the right timing and the right opportunity for us to come back to Lawrence, which my wife and I consider home for us.”

When did you become aware that you would be doubling duties as assistant principal and athletic director?

“ I always did because that was how the administration presented the job and for me. That’s exciting because I am a former coach and a former athlete, and I enjoy the academics side and the athletics side so honestly the opportunity to do both at a school like Lawrence High is really exciting for me.”

Do you have any concerns about how you are going to budget your time and have the opportunity to focus on athletics and student needs?

“It’s a large school. It’s a lot of kids, but. . . Thomas More Prep is obviously a smaller school, the role I’ve had here as principal has been vast and diverse, but I think at Lawrence High it will eventually level in and settle down. I think after a while I can find a way to balance the needs of students and athletics.”

What are you going to miss the most about TMP?

“The thing that I’m going to miss most is that in the four years that we have been out here I’ve renewed a lot of old friendships with people from high school, I’ve also met a lot of great students and their families, but the thing I’m going to miss most is the students and the families, but the opportunity at hand for our family is a chance to go back home to the city we love. I’ve always had great admiration for Lawrence High. I don’t know if you guys appreciate the quality of school you guys have, to be able to come to this great school is something I’m looking forward to.”

Do you plan this to be a long-term position for you and your family?

“ I hope I can come in and do what Mr. [Matt] Brunghardt and the community wants me to do, because I have no intentions of leaving. It’s too hard. This is the fourth career change I’ve had in education, and they’re not easy because I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy the people I work with. I just want to come in, do a great job, do things right and stay there. This is really the only school that I would ever leave TMP for, and I’m just thrilled I’m getting the opportunity, and I’m thrilled to get in there and work with you guys.”