Last finalist ends bid to lead East Baton Rouge Parish Schools

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The last person in the hunt to lead East Baton Rouge Parish’s public school system has dropped out of the running, just hours before the school board was set to meet and possibly choose a new superintendent.

Andrea Zayas’ withdrawal letter, submitted Thursday, said the possibility of success was “near non-existent,” given the tumult in Louisiana’s second-largest school district, news outlets reported.

“Given procedural anomalies and delays, my purpose-fueled drive to equitably serve the children of EBR is misaligned with the current focus of the board,” Zayas, an educator in Boston, wrote to the consulting firm that had compiled a list of 17 potential superintendents. “What should matter most is creating a district culture that drives life-changing, equitable outcomes for the city’s children. Tragically, that is not the current focus.”

Another finalist, LSU Laboratory School Director Kevin George, dropped out Monday, and a third, Krish Mohip of the Youngstown, Ohio, school system, withdrew on July 6, news outlets reported.

The board is trying to replace Sito Narcisse who left the system in January. The board must decide on Narcisse’s successor by July 23 or Gov. Jeff Landry could appoint someone to the position.

Christel Slaughter, the chief executive of SSA Consultants, which is tasked with finding candidates, said the board could look again at the 13 candidates who weren’t selected as finalists or consider anyone not on the list.

“I think there’s a pool of infinite candidates,” said Slaughter. “There are people who, if they (the board) put their thinking cap on, are around.”