LPSB superintendent search may have hit a new snag.
A request by Lafayette Parish School Board member Greg Awbrey seeking an attorney general's opinion on the legality of two citizen appointments to the superintendent search committee could delay the board's timeline for selecting a new top administrator.
The Advocate reports that Awbrey will offer a resolution to the board at its Sept. 21 meeting asking the board to approve the AG opinion, which board member Kermit Bouillion counters could take six to eight weeks to come through and thus significantly push back the search process.
The board on Aug. 17 voted 5-3 to add to its superintendent selection committee a representative from the 100 Black Men of Greater Lafayette and the Lafayette Parish Public Education Stakeholders Council:
Board members Hunter Beasley, who submitted the motion for public involvement at the Aug. 17 meeting, and Kermit Bouillion questioned the timing of the attorney general's opinion.
The application period for the job closes on Sept. 12, and the board planned to begin interviews next month.
"What if the attorney general's opinion takes six to eight weeks? What happens to our superintendent search?" Bouillion asked.
Later in the meeting, Awbrey said his "feelings" about the two public representatives participating in the superintendent selection process have been "misrepresented."
"I think that this process is way too closed, rather than being open," Awbrey said. "If we're going to get citizens involved, why are we getting only two groups chosen by one person."
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