A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing, impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a genuinely valuable or highly sought-after item.
LAE official Shane Riddle says he hears state Superintendent of Education John White submitting resignation letter on Thursday. #laed
— Will Sentell (@WillSentell) January 8, 2020
By now, all of Louisiana is aware of the resignation submitted by Superintendent of Education, John White. No doubt from the very first tweet by The Advocate’s Will Sentell, public school parents and educators began rejoicing, but there was no shortage of folks who asked the question, “What if we get someone worse?”
My friends and colleagues, Mercedes Schneider and Michael Deshotels, both published blogs related to White’s exit. Schneider wrote about possible closed-door dealings and White’s future plans which you can read by clicking here —> La. State Superintendent John White resigns. Deshotels pays particular attention to White’s not-so-spectacular track record which can be read here —> The Legacy of Superintendent John White. I’m going to focus more on the future of Louisiana and talk a little about some of the names popping up as replacements.
First, and foremost, I can’t stress enough that it is more important now, than ever, that public school stakeholders reach out to BESE members when they begin the selection process for White’s replacement. The following qualities are what I feel are most important to avoid a continuation of the contentious tenure of White.
Louisiana’s future Superintendent of Education should:
1. Possess, at a minimum, the requirements set forth by BESE to be a district superintendent. NO WAIVERS!!
2. Must be a career educator with experience in the classroom, and leadership at the building level and the district level.
3. Take pride in building consensus; not creating division.
4. Insist on input from all stakeholders and be willing to compromise when and where possible.
5. Be supportive of valid and effective measures of accountability.
6. Be a resident of Louisiana with strong family ties in the state and children or grandchildren who participate in the public education system they will be tasked to lead.
After 8 years of White, with a cost of $2.2 million ($275K/year), I don’t feel that any reason would be sufficient to allow any of these requirements to go by the wayside. We cannot afford to swap White for another superintendent (White elephant) who will continue to lead us down this path.
Now, let me address some of the names that are being floated as a replacement for White. I hope to ease some concerns.
Holly Boffy– Many, many people have expressed concern that Holly Boffy, District 7 BESE member in her third term, has expressed interest, or is being pushed to fill White’s vacancy. Let me ease your mind. She can’t be superintendent. BESE needs 8 votes to appoint a superintendent, and Boffy is one of the eight. She can’t vote for herself. Even if she resigned, there would be an appointment by the governor; then a special election to replace her. Still don’t get eight votes. Most importantly, Louisiana Revised Statute 42:1121 prohibits anyone serving on a board or commission from being employed or appointed by the agency it supervises for a period of two years after their departure from the board.
Patrick Dobard- Despite being a New Orleans native who began teaching in 1991, and served as superintendent of the failed “Recovery School District,” Dobard does not possess the qualifications to be a district superintendent. I am not familiar with his position on stakeholder input and accountability, but it is worth noting that he is an alumni of the Broad Superintendent’s Academy (along with White), and was essentially White’s wingman until he resigned to head up New Schools for New Orleans which is a sister organization of New Schools for Baton Rouge which has Lane “Kingmaker” Grigsby as a board member. If Dobard becomes a valid possibility, I believe he should be opposed, loudly.
Hollis Milton– Currently serving as superintendent of West Feliciana Parish, Milton meets all of the requirements mentioned above. He has served as the president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, and was instrumental in the development and creation of a current program for educational leaders who aspire to become a superintendent. I have communicated with Milton, and sat with him in meetings at BESE and the legislature on many occasions. He was a very strong leader in the superintendents’ push back against the ESSA plan written and submitted by White. I find him to be very respectful and approachable. If he becomes a valid possibility, I will support him, and you should, too.
Cade Brumley– Currently serving as superintendent of Jefferson parish where he has been for a little over a year. Prior to that Brumley served as superintendent of DeSoto parish where he worked his way up through the ranks beginning as a teacher. Brumley also meets all of the qualifications mentioned above, but I want to offer a caveat. Brumley is also a product of the Broad Academy, as well as, numerous other “education reform” programs. I’ll go on the record and say that I had concerns about this, and I asked him about it, directly. In fact, I have had many communications with Brumley, and have never been disappointed in his responses. He was very willing to explain that his position is that if you are going to be successful at anything, it is imperative that you understand everything about it. In a sense, I agree. It’s difficult to defend your position if you don’t completely understand the other. Brumley has served as president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents. He was instrumental in getting BESE to adopt a less stringent, although still stringent, accountability system.
In November 2017, the Louisiana Association of Superintendents made the bold move of unifying all of the superintendents across the state to press BESE to adopt a less stringent accountability plan and released a public statement which can be read here —>LASS Seeks to Unify Discussion and Actions to Improve Public Education in Louisiana
In order to better understand some of the context of the statement, I reached out to Brumley asking him to clarify. I emailed him and copied the other leaders of the organization, and when he responded, he included them in his response. It can be read here. —>Brumley Responses
I have many other communications with Brumley that I am happy to share should he become a valid possibility to replace White. If he does, I will support him. I hope you do, too.
Thanks, Ganey!