School board to discuss interim replacement for Dilworth

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board plans to discuss naming an interim superintendent Wednesday. Superintendent John Dilworth, citing "health concerns," announced this morning that his last day on the job will be Feb. 24. His contract was scheduled to run out at the end of June, and the board is in the process of selecting his replacement. "[Dilworth] has always had the concerns of our students front and center in all the decisions he has made," school board President Barbara Freiberg says. "This announcement does not change, in any way, the day-to-day operations of the school system." The system's chief academic officer, Herman Brister, has twice applied to be superintendent and been rejected. School board member Jerry Arbour says Brister probably would not be acceptable as interim superintendent to the majority of the board. "If Herman Brister couldn't get six [of 11] votes to be a finalist, I don't think he can get six votes to be the interim superintendent," Arbour says. However, there are several other system officials who are certified as superintendents and might be able to step in, he says. Samuel King, superintendent of Rockdale County Public Schools in suburban Atlanta, is the sole finalist to be the system's next permanent superintendent, although some people with a stake in the school system are quietly reaching out to potential new candidates. King is tentatively scheduled to return to Baton Rouge Feb. 14 for further discussions with the board and the community. —David Jacobs