Unable to find someone they could agree on among the initial crop of applicants, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is unlocking the door and letting in an uncertain number of last minute applicants for superintendent with the goal of picking someone by Wednesday night.
The board on Tuesday agreed to this breakneck schedule to finally hire someone to lead the school district, 12 days after first deadlocking on the key hire. The application process is being reopened for just 17 hours, or until noon Wednesday, with interviews to follow at 4 p.m. that same day and the selection of the next superintendent immediately after that.
"I don’t understand how over six months you couldn’t find a superintendent and you’re going to find one in 24 hours?†Eureka Gaston, a local resident, asked incredulously.Â
Board President Carla Powell-Lewis on Monday said “there are some folks that are local who are interested in the job,†but did not mention any names.
The winning motion Tuesday was by an 8-1 margin — only board member Mark Bellue voted No. It allows the 17 people who applied the first time, by a June 10 deadline, to be considered again.
Christel Slaughter, chief executive officer of the search firm, Baton Rouge-based SSA Consultants, said her office is ready to reach out to everyone again. She said she’s heard already from one applicant who’s interested in staying in as well as three others who didn’t apply the first time who are interested.
"Yes, I think they are people out there,†Slaughter said.
The search heretofore has been marked by people who are either uninterested or who get cold feet. Three finalists selected on June 28 all dropped out: Kevin George, director of LSU Lab Schools; Krish Mohip, a chief education officer for the Illinois State Board of Education; and Andrea Zayas, former chief academic officer for Boston Public Schools.
Last week, during a 9-hour board meeting, Powell-Lewis mentioned by name several potential applicants she’s spoken with over the past few months who had turned down the job when offered.
Not everyone, however, rejected her outright. She said she spoke with LaMont Cole, whom she said told her “maybe,†but told her the district should first consider hiring his good friend Adam Smith. Cole confirmed his plan to apply for the job later Tuesday night.Â
Cole, who serves on the Metro Council, is a veteran educator who serves as chief academic officer for CSAL Inc., a Baton Rouge-based charter school network, and spent several years working for the parish school system. Cole applied in spring 2020 to become East Baton Rouge Parish school superintendent but fell one vote short of making the round of semifinalists.Â
The ongoing search was necessitated by the departure of Sito Narcisse, who accepted a voluntary buyout in January, six weeks after the School Board voted 5-4 to not renew his contract. Narcisse left three years after he was hired.
In a statement sent to the school system late Tuesday evening, Narcisse announced that he intends to apply for his former job, saying his time away reaffirmed his "commitment to students and families of East Baton Rouge Parish."Â
In his letter, Narcisse outlined a 60-day plan should he be selected for the job.
Smith, who first began with the school system in 1996, immediately stepped in as interim superintendent when Narcisse accepted the voluntary buyout. Smith served as interim superintendent previously but was edged out by Narcisse for the top job in 2021.
Smith, for his part, has applied for the job three times and has twice served as interim superintendent. He fell one vote short of being named a finalist this time. School employees who support him have said they’ll have a first-day-of-school sickout if Smith is not hired and other supporters have launched recall petitions against the five board members who oppose him.
Those efforts, however, have failed repeatedly to persuade any of the five to change their minds.
The impasse, however, is sending the school district into uncertain legal terrain. Smith’s six-month contract as interim superintendent officially expired Tuesday — a state law limit the term of interim superintendent like Smith to six months in a 12-month period.
The impasse prompted State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley to weigh in. He met Monday with four board members, including the board leadership. While he said it was a good meeting, he said he is prepared to act in unspecified ways to compel the board to pick a new superintendent if it fails to do so on its own by Thursday morning.
Several board members on Tuesday alluded to this deadline.
“What we are trying to do here is half-baked, but I don’t think we have any choice at all,†observed board member Nathan Rust.
Tuesday’s debate largely revolved around how the board should go about picking who to interview from this crop of last-minute applicants.
Board Vice President Patrick Martin V originally proposed a majority vote of five board members be required to decide who will be interviewed, but board member Mike Gaudet said the board should stick with the way it chose finalists last month. That process involved all board members listing their top three candidates and the three individuals with the most votes returning for interviews. Under those rules, it is possible for someone to receive just one vote and qualify for an interview.
