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Terrebonne Parish School District hosted a public forum special meeting last night, January 11, to give the public the opportunity to chime in on the Superintendent selection process which the comments seem to have a common theme.
The forum had five citizens voice their opinions on what they deemed important for the next superintendent. The first to speak was Vicki Cloutier who presented a compiled bulleted list of comments from teachers, parents, principals, citizens, and more. Some of the comments included the superintendent should be someone that feels like they have nothing to lose, no reputation, and no favors. The superintendent should be willing to ask three questions when facing a decision as a benchmark to measure and task his/her actions: 1) Is it Biblical? 2) Is it constitutional? 3) Does it make common sense? She read the list further that stated the superintendent should be a constitutionalist, be a believer in Jesus Christ, be Pro-life, operate with educators and parents as a team, reject masking our children and social distancing, reject vaccine clinics on school campuses, and reject contact tracing in any form. A comment also included the rejection of critical race theory and to allow parents to review the books in Terrebonne Parish.
The next citizen to speak was Dr. Pedro Cuartas who is a first-generation American where his parents are from Columbia. He started by sharing that it is important for the superintendent to understand the constitution and the rights parents have. He commented that if you look around, people seem to be “tramping” on the constitution and he mentioned his parents’ experiences to compare the statement. He also mentioned that he has talked to parents that feel as if they haven’t had a voice and are afraid to go to the meetings to speak up “Whatever actions to be taken to help bring the community together in terms of feeling like they can speak, “he said,” I have to be honest, the first time when I came to one of these things a while back, I felt like I was in a courtroom, and it shouldn’t feel like that.” He said some parents feel like when they do speak up, they speak up, and that’s where it ends. They feel like they have no voice when it comes to their children. He said he would like that issue to be addressed along with an opportunity for parents to have some kind of interview committee when it comes to the choice of the Superintendent. He commented that the public forum is a great opportunity and there should be more opportunities for people to be involved. He then ended on the fine line between keeping the public safe and overstepping on personal rights, “it happens faster than you think, like my parents’ history,” he said.
Jaqueline Spencer spoke next and spoke with a passion. She’s an advocate for education and is in the field daily. She started by saying the superintendent should be unbiased. She has children with disabilities and asthma who are homebound because they must be kept safe. “To keep our children safe is the main responsibility of the superintendent,” she said,” this goes way beyond politics and aristocracy. The superintendent is supposed to take care of the children, the superintendent is supposed to collaborate effectively with the community to hear the parental cries.” She stated the superintendent needs to know what’s going on within the school system and the community. She said they could have a little more parental involvement, but she said, she doesn’t want to run the board’s job, or to tell the superintendent what she wants. “I can suggest what I want, but at the end of the day, it is his responsibility to choose the best answer.” She said she wants a superintendent that will keep her children safe, a superintendent that will talk to parents to hear their concerns, and ones that don’t mind staying up at night to work on meeting agendas, and one that knows his/her job, but most importantly, one that has a love for the children.
Advocate Shari Champagne spoke on behalf of constituents and parents. She mainly talked about the superintendent needs to understand that the constitution is number one and if the new superintendent does that, that brings no more mandates, school closures, or vaccine mandates, because “that person will uphold constitutional rights for everyone in the Parish higher than any money coming in from the COVID funds,” she said. She also stated that the superintendent needs to reject the progressive 21-century curriculum in schools. Alicia Dove spoke after Champagne and said she thought the new discipline procedures were fantastic and would like to see the new superintendent implement the procedures in all the schools. She also noted the food needs to be looked at and suggested a vote for teachers and the public to get some insight about views about Critical Race Theory. “The children are our future,” she said, “so I would like to see a good superintendent that helps discipline.”
The board members also made comments after the public forum was finished. Matthew Ford (District) said the superintendent, like the bulletin states, must be a life-long educator, and that’s only who he will consider for the position. He followed up on the comments about the superintendent being a believer. As a man of God, Ford said he has studied other religions, and good people are in all religions. “We are one nation under God, and I wholeheartedly believe in that, but I’m not going to exclude anyone Muslim, Buddhist…,” he said. He said his beliefs are strong, but he’s not going to push them on anyone else, and if the superintendent has the best interest in the children, then that’s the person for the job. He also commented that there needs to be more dialog when it comes to parents and the public and he would like a superintendent that welcomes it. He also supports the next superintendent to be unbiased and unpolitical. “The superintendent should not take away or restrict or do away with our constitutional civil rights. Keeping students out of school, shutting schools down, goes against our constitution. You always have the opportunity to stay home or keep your kids home if you don’t feel they’re safe. But they need to be in the classroom learning,” he said.
Roger Dale DeHart (District 7) said he has many years of experience with the process and he is passionate about what he does. He said he has no hidden agenda and is looking for a lot more. “If anyone that doesn’t have a heart for the children, shouldn’t be here,” he said, “ I do have quite a few goals for the next person selected for the next superintendent, to bring back some of the things I think have been lost in the process.” MayBelle N. Trahan (District 8) said she has been an educator and was in school herself for 20 years because she always felt she needed to learn too. As a mother, she’s been through what people are talking about, and she has “worn those shoes.” She said she is open to communication and has always offered coffee in her own home and has driven to “we need to have open communication, parents need to be aware of everything we do, that is a number one item that I am looking for. We need to be here for the parents and all of the stakeholders,” she said.
President Gregory Harding (District 2) closed the meeting by saying the kids need to be first. He said some of his criteria for the person selected, “I believe that if you put the kids first, that’s one of the most important things in a superintendent,” he said, “Whether you agree or disagree with the person, but if you put kids first, you can’t go wrong.”
The position of the superintendent has certain criteria to be eligible for the position. Qualifications for the superintendent are from Bulletin 756 of LA Standards for State Certification of School Personnel section 709: Educational Leader Certificate Level 3 (EDL3). It states that:
A. This certificate is required in order to serve as a school system superintendent or assistant superintendent.
1. Eligibility Requirements:
a. Valid EDL 2 or one of the Louisiana administrative/supervisory certifications that preceded the educational leadership certification structure;
b. Five years of teaching experience in his/her area of certification
c. Five years of successful administrative or management experience in education at the level of assistant principal or above. The assistant principal experience would be limited to a maximum of two years experience in that position; and
d. Passing score on the School Superintendent Assessment (SSA), in keeping with state requirements.
The position has been advertised since December and the application can be found on the school district’s website. Here’s the timeline for filling the position:
- Applications due: Feb. 16.
- Opening of applications received by the Superintendent Search Screening Committee: Feb. 23
- Announcement and acceptance of applicants to be interviewed for superintendent: March 8
- Date for interviews: March 15
- Selection of new superintendent: March 22
- Begin negotiations and approval for superintendent contract: April
Applications can be found on the school district’s website.
