(Baton Rouge- January 11, 2012) As expected, John White was appointed State Superintendent of Education today by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Nine members voted to support Gov. Jindal’s hand-picked candidate, while District 3 Member Lottie Beebe voted “no” and District 8 Member Carolyn Hill abstained. Reportedly, both were under heavy political pressure to support the governor’s choice.
The motion to hire White was made by District 6 BESE member Chas Roemer, who also asked that the board waive the requirements that a candidate would normally be expected to meet for the position.
Beebe objected, saying “Credentials and experience do matter. The governor's nominee lacks a great deal of both in my opinion."
Beebe introduced a substitute motion, calling for a nationwide search for a qualified candidate to be superintendent. She was unable to muster a second for her motion, however.
Representing the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, Public Relations Director Les Landon criticized the politicization of the process that resulted in White’s appointment.
By accepting the governor’s candidate without considering any other qualified person, Landon said, the process damaged the public perception of BESE, sullied the office of the superintendent, put an unfortunate cloud over the candidate and demoralized the teacher corps.
Landon said BESE should have used its constitutional authority to search out the best candidate for the office, and at least post a “help wanted” ad for the position.
But there were no surprises. As soon as the vote was taken, BESE handed out a press release overflowing with praise for White from Governor Jindal, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Rep. Steve Carter (who will chair the House Education Committee) State Sen. J.P. Morrell, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Superintendents Association President Mike Faulk and others.
Gov. Jindal put out feelers for White’s appointment soon after former Superintendent Paul Pastorek resigned last year, but was unable to garner the eight votes necessary to guarantee the result. In last fall’s election, the governor and his allies heavily supported BESE candidates who pledged to make White’s appointment their first order of business.
Since last May, the 36-year old White has served as superintendent of the state Recovery School District. Prior to that, he was deputy chancellor of the New York City school system. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia, and a master’s degree in public administration from New York University.
He was a Teach for America volunteer, and worked as executive director of Teach for America in Chicago. He also has a certification from the Broad Superintendents Academy, which requires 10 months of weekend training.
White’s annual salary is expected to be $275,000. The rest of his compensation package has not been released.
