By April, the East Baton Rouge public school board plans to have selected the next superintendent to take the reins from the retiring Warren Drake. The search firm now has 23 applicants, including names from across the country, some locals and two currently working within the EBR system. At its meeting tonight, the board plans to pare the list to seven or fewer candidates.
In the past, EBR has had superintendents who were male and others who were female. Some were black, some were white; some were young, others were older. None of that demographic data is important, writes Business Report publisher Rolfe McCollister in his new opinion piece. What’s critical is someone being up to the challenge.
Many were not, McCollister writes. Their tenures and success—or lack thereof—varied greatly. Boards of the past 20-plus years have made some big mistakes by hiring some superintendents lacking in leadership skills, innovation and a vision—and our children and community have paid the price.
This selection should simply be about finding “the best” … period.
As Board President Michael Gaudet told WAFB-TV, “This is more than just about students who attend public schools, this is also about the city as a whole and how we can help impact the image and performance of Baton Rouge for the entire city and parish.”
Also in his opinion piece, McCollister writes about the importance of the LSU and City Park lakes areas, and how transformative BRAF’s lakes master plan could be for the community.
McCollister also writes about a site at Airline Highway and Florida Boulevard, which could become an Amazon distribution center and what that could mean for Baton Rouge.
Read McCollister’s full column here, and send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
