The process to get here was tortured and dysfunctional. But in the end, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board may have gotten exactly what it needed when it appointed LaMont Cole as its next superintendent.
In the short term, the Wednesday night vote ended weeks of agonizing political infighting and gridlock so severe that state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley had threatened to intervene. With interim Superintendent Adam Smith's tenure having expired Tuesday, the system was at risk of being leaderless as the the first day of school approached.
In the long term, the board may have finally identified a candidate who is uniquely qualified to meet the particular demands of the job.
First, Cole has a long background in education — 26 years, including the last 13 as the chief academic officer for CSAL, Inc., a charter school network based in Baton Rouge.
Perhaps more importantly, Cole Baton Rouge's Mayor Pro-tem, a role that leads the city-parish's Metro Council, and therefore presumably adept at navigating tricky political situations. Those skills will be paramount at the top of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.
The board helped him out by solving one pressing problem when it appointed Smith, a longtime school system administrator, as deputy superintendent. Smith was favored by many school system employees, some of whom had promised a sick-out on the first day of school if he didn't get the top job. Thursday, leaders of those groups said they would report to work as scheduled.
Smith and Cole are close; Cole has said he didn't put in an application during the first round of applications out of deference to Smith.
Faimon Roberts on Monday, March 28, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Wednesday night, board members tripped all over themselves to heap praise on Cole as a candidate. "Passion" was one word used to describe what he brings.
"I think it's wonderful to have someone of Mr. Cole's caliber fall in our lap at the last minute," board member Mark Bellue said. The vote was unanimous.
That solidarity was sorely lacking over the last several months as the board bickered and fought, eventually refusing to renew former Superintendent Sito Narcisse's contract and then acrimoniously wading through a months-long candidate search. That process ended earlier this month when the board couldn't muster enough votes to hire Kevin George, currently the head of LSU's Laboratory School, who fell one vote short.
By contrast, Cole's hiring took less than a week. Applications opened Tuesday and closed Wednesday; he was interviewed and selected Wednesday night.
Even then, some board members bickered over who would be involved in negotiating Cole's contract. Board member Mike Gaudet apologized "for the behavior of our board."
This is what Cole is stepping into. He inherits a board with real political acrimony and a system with real challenges, both academic and practical.
He has said he will withdraw from his Metro Council re-election bid and leave the metro council.
Hopefully, he's won't leave his political skills behind in the council chambers. He's going to need them.
