(The Center Square) — A lawsuit filed by several community groups could halt the hiring of a Caddo Parish superintendent.
The Caddo Parish Public Schools Board was scheduled to interview the lone finalist, chief academic officer Keith Burton, on Monday. The lawsuit was filed in Caddo Parish District Court on Tuesday by Roy Cary and nonprofit groups The Peoples Promise Youth Division and All Streets All People.
Burton is the only white person being consider out of six candidates, according to the People’s Promise Youth Division Facebook page.
The page also said, “Spending $70,000 on a national search means we should see a fair process and have a chance to hear from more candidates about their plans to improve our schools.”
According to the petition for injunction, the Board engaged with McPherson & Jacobson LLC to search for candidates for the position of superintendent in Caddo Parish.
In the cover letter to the board, the search firm said that they “understand that students have diverse needs, thus we focus on the intentional recruitment of a diverse candidate pool that includes ethnic and cultural identity as well as experience in culturally proficient practices that have proven successful in addressing educational equity gaps.”
The plaintiffs insisted that because the defendants will interview only one of six superintendent finalists, the lone interviewee for all practical purposes will be the de facto choice for the job. The petitioners say they have right to claim the search firm did not follow critical steps in the recruitment process as it relates to a diverse candidate pool.
McPherson & Jacobson was also supposed to meet with the community stakeholder committee, but they have not discussed anything regarding the selection process, according to the petitioners. The stakeholders were also supposed to meet the candidate, but have not, according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order from the court to prevent the board from interviewing Burton and require it to use the criteria provided by the search firm.
Petitioners will need a quick decision to prevent the Burton interview, which is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m.