Six weeks after his request to stay was rebuffed, East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Sito Narcisse has agreed to step down, ending a three-year tenure running the state’s second-largest traditional school district.
Narcisse announced his imminent departure at a news conference Friday. He said he made his decision after an extended period of reflection and talks with his family and friends, but that leaving is “always bittersweet.â€
"We didn't get everything right, but we built the system to a better place," Narcisse said. "I think it is now time to build on that and bring in a new leader to do this work."
Narcisse highlighted what he saw as his biggest achievements: expansions of college-level coursework, investments in early childhood education, student internships and business partnerships, and literacy initiatives.
“The fruits of our labor have come out to where you can actually see tremendous progress,†Narcisse said.
Narcisse was hired in January 2021. His contract expires June 30. East Baton Rouge has more than 40,000 students and more than 5,000 employees.
A special meeting has been called for Monday to accept Narcisse’s resignation and to select an as-yet-to-be-identified interim superintendent to replace him.
The details of Narcisse’s separation agreement were not immediately available Friday. Narcisse, whose annual salary is $255,000, has about 160 days remaining on his contract. That works out to about $112,000.
Narcisse’s exit was set in motion on Dec. 7 when the parish school board voted 5-4 to reject a proposal to renew his contract for four more years. The contract would have given him a $55,000 pay raise, making him the highest-paid superintendent in Louisiana.
Supporters of Narcisse quickly launched a petition and started a pressure campaign in hopes that the board would reconsider.
Such hopes, however, were dashed this week when Board President Carla Powell-Lewis and Vice President Patrick Martin V informed Narcisse that they had the legally required supermajority of six votes to buy out Narcisse's contract, which expires June 30. It was not disclosed which board member was willing to be the sixth vote to buy him out.
Powell-Lewis and Martin voted last month not to renew Narcisse’s contract. Both were installed in board leadership only a few days ago.
Rather than risking losing in a vote, Narcisse agreed to a voluntary buyout. The details of that buyout, including the estimated costs, were not released Friday.
Calling a special meeting on Monday, rather than waiting until the board’s regular monthly meeting three days later on Thursday, suggests a desire to lock in Narcisse’s departure and limit the chances that it unravels. The vote to accept Narcisse’s severance package requires just five votes to pass.
The board also is scheduled to vote Monday on an interim superintendent. The identity of that person is to be announced Saturday. They are likely to replace Narcisse, perhaps as early as Tuesday. State law allows interim superintendents to serve for six months at most.
Friday’s news conference was held inside the School Board meeting room at 1050 South Foster Drive. It was a polite but awkward affair, with Narcisse talking about the good things he has done, while board leaders Powell-Lewis and Martin mostly looked on.
Narcisse said he appreciates the people who have fought to keep him in Baton Rouge, but said it is time to move on.
“When you are part of a community, you want to see that community heal and do better,†Narcisse said. “Baton Rouge has been a community where its potential is just ridiculous.â€
Powell-Lewis and Martin spoke after Narcisse, thanking him for his good work over the past three years.
“We thank Dr. Narcisse not only for his service, but he will also be available to assist with the transition to new leadership,†Powell-Lewis said.
Powell-Lewis and Martin both took office 12 months ago and were quickly faced with the decision of whether to retain Narcisse as their leader.
"As a public official, one has to make difficult decisions sometimes, and this was an extremely difficult decision,†Martin said. “It’s very vital that we recognize the contributions that Dr. Narcisse has made. We don’t want to start all over again. We want to build on the foundations he has laid.â€
At the same time, they made it clear Narcisse was facing the likelihood of being forced out of the job if he didn’t do what he did Friday. Powell-Lewis said six board members are ready to force a buyout if needed.
“There are six (votes) if there is any controversy or contradiction from the superintendent,†she said.
After the news conference, board member Dadrius Lanus made an unscheduled appearance at the microphone, saying he came “to speak truth to power.†He said that Black leaders in Baton Rouge like Narcisse face unfair levels of scrutiny.
“It is hard for a Black man or a Black woman to serve as a position of leadership and be successful and also get a contract at the end of the day,†Lanus said.
Lanus served this past year as board president, and he led the negotiations for the generous renewal contract for Narcisse that the board rejected.
Lanus said he and the Baton Rouge community have been left out of the loop on both the decision to buy out Narcisse and on picking an interim replacement. He questioned the financial wisdom of a buyout at a time when the school system is facing potential budget cuts with important decisions to be made.
“Yet, now we somehow found money to do a buyout of the superintendent’s contract,†Lanus said.
“I just think that is not the right choice to be made, but this choice has been made,†he said.
