EBR Board Stuns Crowded Room; Selects 3 Finalists for Superintendent, Rejects Interim

BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Friday selected three finalists for the superintendent position, and interim Superintendent Adam Smith was not among them.

Smith, who has worked in the school system for 28 years, has run for the role twice before but will not be the next leader of the state’s second-largest traditional school system.

“Nearly 70 comments were submitted (to the board before the vote). Over 90 percent were overwhelmingly supportive of interim Superintendent Adam Smith,” said board member Dadrius Smith.

But the only local finalist to advance was Kevin George, director of the LSU Lab School.

“We cannot expect a superintendent who will save the day; we just need to have the right person,” said board member Patrick Martin, who gave his preference to the three finalists. “We collectively have a lot of work to do. »

The other finalists are Krish Mohip, director of education for the Illinois State Board of Education, and Andrea Zayas, who previously served as chief academic officer for Boston Public Schools.

Smith had been selected as a semifinalist for the job when seven of the nine board members included him on their shortlists. He received more support in that vote than any of the other candidates, but that favor did not last.

George, who served as superintendent of St. John the Baptist Parish Schools for six years, was selected by five board members as a semifinalist. Zayas and Mohip were on the ballots of four board members in the semifinal round.

“There are some good candidates,” said Shashonnie Steward, who voted for Smith on Friday. “But, ultimately, we’re at a point in our district. We need someone to step up, who’s familiar enough, who knows what’s going on.”

The next leader will replace Sito Narcisse, who served in the role for three years before the board voted last winter not to renew his contract. Smith had served as interim superintendent before and after Narcisse’s tenure.

The three finalists will then go through a series of interviews that will take place the week of July 8. They will first meet with panels of parents, principals, teachers, business leaders and community leaders. On July 9, they will tour three schools and have 90-minute interviews with the board of directors.

A new director is expected to be appointed on July 11.

East Baton Rouge has more than 40,000 students.

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Five school board members voted for the three chosen finalists (George, Mohip and Zayas):
Marc Bellue
Michel Gaudet
Patrick Martin
Nathan Rust
Emily Soulé

The other four school board members all voted for one person, Smith.
Dadrius Lanus
Carla Powell
Steward Shashonnie
Cliff Lewis