After a long, often rancorous debate, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Thursday voted by a narrow margin to reject rehiring Superintendent Sito Narcisse for four more years, likely meaning that the school system will have to soon seek his successor.
Thursday’s vote caps off 11 months of drama since the idea of renewing Narcisse’s contract was first broached by the board, and four months after negotiations began. Over that time, Narcisse has not been able to bridge his differences with a board on which six of the nine members are new to their job.
In rejecting Narcisse, the board will now have to decide how it will go about replacing him.
Narcisse’s current contract will expire June 30.
A parade of speakers came out Thursday night objecting to the proposed contract renewal, which would have provided Narcisse a $55,000 pay raise starting Jan. 1. That is a 21.6% increase.
"It is insulting that you all want to offer this kind of money to someone who has shown that he does not want to be here and doesn't support our children," said Ursula Parkerson, a middle school teacher in Baton Rouge.
“The supreme chutzpah! That is colossal arrogance to think that you deserve almost $2 million,†said Latafta Miles, who also teaches middle school, referring to the ultimate value of the proposed contract over four years.
Narcisse did not speak, and when approached after the meeting would not comment.
Here’s how the vote went. A “yes†vote is not to renew Narcisse’s contract. A “no†vote is to keep alive renewing the contract.
Yes: Board members: Emily Chatelain, Cliff Lewis, Patrick Martin V, Carla Powell-Lewis, Nathan Rust.
No: Board members Mark Bellue, Mike Gaudet, Dadrius Lanus and Shashonnie Steward.
“If our staff felt inspired, supported, they would move mountains for our kids,†Rust said. “They are not supported. They are not bought-in.â€
Rust said he and other board members were not included in the negotiations and should not be blamed for the proposed contract.
“The audacity of this proposal despite the challenges we have faced this year is not only tone deaf, but leads the public to believe that your board as a whole agreed to present this and it undermines board confidence,†he said.
Lanus objected to Rust’s assertion
“I personally met with specific board members,†he said, noting that Rust is one of them.
Powell-Lewis, a teacher in Zachary and a former Baton Rouge schoolteacher, said she has been disappointed since taking office in January with the low morale and institutional disorganization. She said it’s time for a change.
“We have talent in this state that has not been tapped,†Powell-Lewis said. “That is why I am making this particular vote."
Gaudet, one of Narcisse’s staunchest supporters, urged the board unsuccessfully to give Narcisse a chance to consider revising the contract.
“To change paths now is just going to kill that momentum, and we are just going to start back over back where we were,†Gaudet said.
Gaudet also argued that outside interest groups are pushing to get rid of Narcisse and already lining up potential replacements who will push to make East Baton Rouge an all-charter district like New Orleans.
“Be careful what you asked for," Gaudet told the audience. “I think you are in the process of winning the battle to lose the war.â€
Martin dismissed Gaudet’s assertion, saying that will never happen.
If he had been successful, Narcisse’s new $310,000 base salary would have made him the highest-paid school superintendent in Louisiana, just eclipsing Avis Williams, the superintendent of New Orleans Public Schools.
Martin said that was the goal. Narcisse met with him even before Martin took office in January and said he expected to have his contract renewed and that he would become the highest paid superintendent in the state.
“We have been pushed and pushed to make this decision sooner lest we lose Dr. Narcisse,†he said.
Narcisse was hired in January 2021 to take over the state’s second-largest traditional school district, currently home to more than 40,000 students and more than 5,000 employees. It was his first turn as superintendent. Prior to then, he held a series of top administrative jobs at districts across the country, most recently in Washington, D.C.
The 13-page proposed contract, which was negotiated by Narcisse and board leadership, would have kept the native of Long Island, New York, in charge of Baton Rouge schools until Dec. 31, 2027, a seven-year tenure. That would make him the longest-serving Baton Rouge schools superintendent in decades.
Four years is the longest that Louisiana law allows school boards to renew a contract for a public school superintendent.
While most speakers opposed Narcisse, some did speak in support of him Thursday.
Several alumni of Capitol High came out.
Jack Harrell is a graduate of Capitol High School and sits on the governance board running the high school since it returned to local control earlier this year. Harrell expressed confusion about all the criticism of Narcisse.
"We on the Capitol board, we must be in a bubble,†Harrell said. “I have nothing but positive things to say about the programs that Dr. Narcisse has created at Capitol High.â€
John Pierre, chancellor of the Southern University Law Center, said Narcisse has flaws but he is a visionary leader and the school system deserves stability in leadership.
“He’s opened doors for students that weren’t open before,†Pierre said.
Community activist Gary Chambers attacked Black board members for opposing Narcisse’s renewal.
“If you can’t support a Black man for a contract renewal, I can’t support you," Chambers said.
Chambers predicted that chaos will ensue.
“We will have five superintendents in five years because of board mismanagement,†he said.
Jamie Robinson, who is Black, said the proposed raise Narcisse is seeking is far too much.
“I don’t care if you are black, brown or yellow,†Robinson said. “There is no way you deserve a raise of this extent.â€
