The Jefferson Parish School Board has named Chief Operating Officer Lale Geer as interim superintendent, putting him in the top job of the state's largest school district while they search for a permanent replacement for outgoing Cade Brumley.
Geer has spent three decades as a teacher, principal and administrator in Jefferson Parish. This is the second time he has been appointed interim superintendent — he served in the same role in 2018 after Isaac Joseph's contract was bought out and before Brumley was hired.
Brumley, who has been on the job for just over two years, is leaving Jefferson Parish to take over the state superintendent's job. His last day in Jefferson is Friday.
In a related move, the School Board voted to begin a search for a new superintendent at Wednesday's meeting, which also briefly touched on the unrest roiling many cities after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis Police Officer. Board member Simeon Dickerson, one of two black members of the board, knelt during the during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and Brumley read a passage regarding schools from black writer Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me," calling Coates' perspective an important one.Â
Geer will inherit the helm of the 51,000-student system amid dealing with the greatest public health emergency in recent memory. Like the rest of the state's public schools, the district's roughly 85 schools have been shut since March, and though some online and other remote learning measures were implemented, the potential for lost ground when school reconvenes in August — if it does — is great.
The system also is dealing with budget woes brought on by the coronavirus. School officials estimate that approximately $12 million in revenue over four months will be lost, something Geer will have to grapple with.
"We are going to have some budget issues we are going to have to work out," he acknowledged Wednesday. But he said his goal was to reduce impacts on the classroom as little as possible.
He praised Brumley's signature five-year plan, saying the path for the system was "already set out."
Under the 2024 plan, the system aims to raise its overall grade from a C to an A in the state's ranking system, boost graduation rates and lifting the average ACT score, among other benchmarks. Since the plan was unveiled, the system has convinced voters to pass a new property tax for teacher pay raises, added stipends for teachers in certain subjects and at certain schools, reformed the offerings for English language learners and created several new prekindergarden through eighth grade schools.
"We've got to continue to strive in that vein," he said. He said he would rely on the board's help and guidance to deal with issues as they arise over the summer.
Cade Brumley, superintendent of the Jefferson Parish school system, was named state superintendent of education Wednesday after two tense roun…
Brumley departs after a brief but lauded tenure in Jefferson Parish, which he came to after leading DeSoto Parish's schools, which have approximately one-fifth the number of students that Jefferson does.
"He brings out the best in people," School Board member Mark Morgan said Wednesday. "I am sure he will bring that dedication to the state level."
Morgan also thanked Brumley for helping get the tax passed that helped raise teacher salaries to make them more competitive with surrounding districts.
Board members have mentioned four potential internal replacements for Brumley: Chief of Schools James Gray; Chief Student Support Officer "AJ" Pethe; Chief District Affairs Officer Germaine Gilson; and Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Jenna Chiasson.Â
