Carroll P. Matherne
November 25, 2008
RoseMary Smith Giron
November 28, 2008
Local citizens insisted at last week’s meeting of the Terrebonne Parish School Board that board members stick to its policy when seeking the next school superintendent.
However, with five weeks until Superintendent Ed Richard Jr. is scheduled to retire, his job position has not been posted, according to personnel department staff.
School board members said they have not discussed how and when to begin pursuing a replacement.
“I have no idea what the intention of the board is,” said board member Richard Jackson. “As far as I know, we haven’t advertised for the superintendent job.”
The school board policy manual dictates that “the procedure for replacing a Superintendent shall begin as soon as possible upon announcement of the seated Superintendent’s retirement, or the position otherwise becomes vacant.”
Richard turned in his letter of resignation on Oct. 23 and is effective Dec. 31.
The policy also gives an approximate time frame for electing a superintendent, beginning in January and culminating with a selection in May.
With six months remaining on Richard’s contract after his retirement, the board seems determined to appoint an interim and then conduct a search for a permanent replacement to take effect on July 1.
While a few board members said Assistant Superintendent Philip Martin could replace Richard on an interim basis, they insisted they could appoint anyone they felt qualified to fill the post.
“As long as somebody gets five votes from the board, they can be superintendent,” said board member Donald Duplantis. “We could appoint you (referring to this reporter) as superintendent.”
For Lee Stiel and Sharon Bergeron, who addressed the board, sticking to the policy manual is the best way of ensuring the best person is hired as the next superintendent.
“The most important thing that the board does is hire a superintendent,” Stiel said. “If you chose not to use this policy, I hope you debate it before us, the public, so we may have an opportunity to know your reasoning and also to comment as well.”
“I am begging you, as a school board, to remember that there are 20,000 children who are depending on you,” Bergeron said. “You should choose a selection process where you will choose the best person. More than that, I am asking that you choose a superintendent who can do the job and please let him do the job.”
In other school system news, Richard said that Grand Caillou Elementary School is on schedule to reopen after the Thanksgiving holidays.
“If everything works out like we think it will, the students will be back in the school early next month,” he said.
Grand Caillou Elementary was inundated with 5 feet of floodwater after Hurricane Ike in September. The entire school population has been relocated to Acadian Elementary School since Sept. 19.
The school has flooded at least five times since Hurricane Juan in 1985. The school system has spent about $3 million cleaning up the school during that time period.
Several Grand Caillou residents have formed an advocacy group, Citizens for an Equal Education, to propose to the school board that either the existing school be elevated or a new school be built on 15 acres of donated land adjacent to SAIA on Grand Caillou Road.
“The constant disruption to the education process because of the flooding is detrimental to kids’ learning,” said Marcell McGee, the group’s spokesman. “They are losing valuable instruction time that other students in the school system don’t have to deal with.”
Richard said all instruction time missed due to the storms will be made up this academic year.
As for Citizens’ proposal, Richard and several board members said it is an idea worth discussing. They also said they would prefer to have FEMA pay for such a project, just as the agency did with New Orleans public schools after Hurricane Katrina.
