After board vote, EBR schools boss denied Florida superintendent job

BATON ROUGE – After a lengthy series of interviews Thursday morning, the Broward County school board chose not to hire East Baton Rouge Superintendent Dr. Sito Narcisse to fill in its vacancy at superintendent. 

Narcisse was one of three finalists who made their case in person Thursday morning as the Broward school board sought to name its new superintendent. The board overwhelmingly supported Dr. Peter Licata, an administrator from a neighboring school district.

Narcisse earned two votes, with the other seven going to Licata. 

Read the statement from Dr. Sito Narcisse here 

When he showed interest in the job last month, Narcisse told WBRZ that he was asked to apply for the opening and said his focus would remain in East Baton Rouge for the time being.

Narcisse was first named the head of the EBR school system in January 2021. Since then, he’s faced pushback from district employees over staffing shake-ups and the controversial “Day of Hope” field trip that raised concerns from some parents.

The Day of Hope trip was ultimately a key point in discussions surrounding Narcisse’s potential hiring in Florida, with at least one board member identifying it as a major point of concern when debating him as a candidate. 

East Baton Rouge School Board President Dadrius Lanus released the following statement Thursday.

Dear EBRPSS Community,

Over the course of the last month, we were faced with a challenge of possibly losing our educational leader, Superintendent Dr. Sito Narcisse, to another school district. It speaks volumes of the work that has occurred across our school district and the capital region under the leadership of Dr. Narcisse, that the competing school district was the Broward County School System (the 6th largest district in the nation). However, let me be clear; I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge there is a gap between several EBRPSS board members and Dr. Narcisse that requires a bridge to ensure we can all work in both partnership and collaboration to bring about more innovative opportunities for our students in East Baton Rouge. 

For my part, I am open to Dr. Narcisse’s continued leadership with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, but I also acknowledge that bridge-building must take place from all sides. As a district, we have a lot of work to do for our schools, including the development of a budget that prioritizes our students, teachers, and support staff. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to work with Dr. Sito Narcisse to resolve our budgetary constraints to help build further stability and continuity on behalf of our school system. 

As a board, we remain committed to expanding access to early childhood education, increased dual enrolment options for high school students and bolster our robust workforce development program to ensure opportunities for every EBRPSS graduate. The work we have done to expand the horizons of our kids is too important to idle, and now should be the time we accelerate our resolve.

In closing, what our district needs now more than ever is vision and leadership that is committed to moving the needle for students and families for years to come. Thank you Baton Rouge and may God continue to add value to the East Baton Rouge School System. 

Sincerely,

Dadrius Lanus

Board President, EBRPSS