BRAC attacked by Brister supporters

Through its political action committee, FuturePAC, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber backed several candidates in the 2010 East Baton Rouge Parish School Board election, including five of the six members who last night voted against appointing Chief Academic Officer Herman Brister to be the system's interim superintendent. Those same six members voted against making Brister a finalist for the permanent superintendent position on Jan. 25. BRAC's purported influence on the board has been a point of contention for Brister's supporters, and those suspicions boiled over in yesterday's contentious board meeting. "The chamber doesn't run the board," shouted Hyma Moore Sr., a local parent and Brister supporter. Moore says the chamber doesn't want Brister as superintendent because "they can't tell him what to do." BRAC President Adam Knapp, in an interview several days ago, said the chamber's only goal is to see rapid improvement in student achievement. "We have, as an organization, extremely high expectations for what can be achieved for all kids in this district, and our economic outcomes are intrinsically tied to the performance of East Baton Rouge as a district," he says. "There is no ulterior motive. … The strategies are there [for rapid improvement], and the characteristics of leadership that it takes to achieve that, while rare, exist in many leaders that can be found to run public education." While BRAC has monitored the superintendent selection process, it has not taken a public position for or against any candidates. The board voted last night to delay naming an interim superintendent until its Feb. 16 regular meeting. Current system head John Dilworth is leaving Feb. 24. The lone finalist to permanently replace him, Samuel King, a superintendent in Rockdale County, Ga., withdrew his name from consideration yesterday afternoon.—David Jacobs

Today's poll question: Do you think BRAC is trying to strong-arm the school board into choosing a superintendent it supports?