Caddo School Board Will Close Doors to Interview Process

SHREVEPORT, LA - This is a big week for Caddo Parish Schools. The Caddo School Board will interview Keith Burton to be the next superintendent. He currently serves as Chief Academic Officer of Caddo Schools.

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This special called meeting will begin at 9am on Wednesday morning. Burton was chosen as the only finalist to be interviewed after being given a list of six candidates from a private company hired to do a nationwide search.

The Board members reviewed applications, resumes, and video interviews of six semifinalists brought forward by McPherson & Jacobson, LLC, the search firm retained to assist in the selection of the next superintendent. After that process, the board voted 7-5 to only interview Burton.

Has the Board Deviated from the Process?

There is one major change in this process. The board has been telling members of the public and the local education community that this interview of Burton would be done in an open session. But the Board has decided to go into executive session to interview Burton.

Board attorney Reg Abrams tells KEEL News this is the only change that has been made during this process. He says other than this, the Board has followed the process they laid out earlier this year. He tells us there was no set number of candidates the board agreed to interview.

We did ask Abrams if Burton could request that the interview remain open to the public and he told us he could request that if he would like. But it would ultimately be up to the Board to decide how it will be handled.

KEEL News reached out to Burton to ask if he was going to ask that the interview be open to the public and he told us:

The Board will determine the process by which I will be interviewed and I will defer to them for that process. I am grateful for the opportunity to be considered and look forward to sharing my vision for this district.

Here's the meeting from August 27 when the decision was made to move forward with just Burton.

The meeting is set for 9am Wednesday morning at the Board office on Midway. There is a time in the meeting for the public to speak before the Board goes into Executive Session to interview Burton. There is no agenda item listed calling for a vote on Burton, so it is unclear if the Board could take a vote on offering him the job after the interview.