Choosing the next superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System is an important undertaking.  That’s why the School Board has taken steps to include as much input from, and discussion with, the public as possible.

To that end, the public is invited to three community forums next week to meet the final three candidates for the position of school superintendent.  Each candidate will be introduced at one of three forums:  Dr. John Covington -- Monday, March 2; Dr. Bonita Coleman-Potter -- Tuesday, March 3; and Mr. John Dilworth -- Wednesday, March 4.  Prior to the public forums, which begin at 4:30 p.m. each day, candidates will tour schools in the System for most of the day.  Forums will be held at the Instructional Resource Center, 1022 S. Foster Dr. (next to the School System’s Central Office). 

The community forums and School Board meetings will be broadcast live on cable access Channel 21. In addition, live streaming video of the forums will be provided through the School System’s Web site, www.ebrschools.org. 

A Board meeting will follow each forum, and the School Board is expected to make a final decision on who will be the next superintendent on March 4.  This person will replace Charlotte D. Placide, who plans to retire June 30.

Questions for candidates can be asked in person at a forum or submitted via the Internet at www.ebrschools.org (link -- http://news.ebrschools.org/explore.cfm/suptsearch09/).  The final candidates’ bios are posted on the Web site, as well.  The search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates presented a list of three finalists seeking to become the next superintendent at a School Board workshop held February 25.

The three finalists include:

• Dr. John W. Covington / MARCH 2 FORUM – Superintendent of Pueblo City Schools, Pueblo, CO, for the past three years. 
The K-12 district has enrollment of 18,000, staff of 2,500 and an annual budget of $200 million.  Previously, he was superintendent of Lowndes County Public Schools in Alabama and assistant superintendent of the Office of Student Support and Community Services for Montgomery Public Schools in Alabama.  Covington has an Ed.D. Degree and A.A. certification in Educational Leadership from Auburn University, an Ed.S. Degree and A.A. certification in School Counseling from Alabama State University and a M.Ed. certificate in School Administration from Troy University in Montgomery.  He is a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy and a member of such professional organizations as the National Center for Education, Research & Technology, the National Association of School Administrators, School Superintendents of Alabama and the Governor’s Commission for Quality Teaching, among others.

• Dr. Bonita R. Coleman-Potter / MARCH 3 FORUM – Deputy superintendent of Instruction, Jackson Public School District, Jackson, MS, for the past three years.
The K-12 district has enrollment of 31,000, staff of 4,900 and an annual budget of $320 million.  Previously, she was associate state superintendent for Academics at the Mississippi Department of Education and the state department’s bureau director for the Office of Reading, Early Childhood and Language Art.  Coleman-Potter has a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Jackson State University, a master of arts degree in English from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor of arts degree in Secondary Education/English from Tougaloo College.  A fellow of the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy 2008, a national rater for the Broad Prize in Urban Education and the winner of the Regional Superintendent of the Year 2007 Award from America Reads Mississippi, she is a member of the Higher Education Literacy Council, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Education Association and Phi Delta Kappa, among others.

• Mr. John L. Dilworth / MARCH 4 FORUM – Superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools, Montgomery, AL, for the past two years.
The K-12 district has enrollment of 31,500, staff of 5,150 and an annual budget of $350 million.  Previously, he was vice president of University Affairs at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches and chief operating officer of Caddo Public Schools in Shreveport, both in Louisiana.  Dilworth holds a master’s degree in Education Administration and a bachelor of science degree in Health and Physical Education from Northwestern State University.  A winner of the Northwestern University Hall of Distinguished Educators 2008 and the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame awards and a graduate of the Broad Academy, he serves on the local Chamber of Commerce’s Board Committee of 100 and is a member of the Montgomery Area YMCA Board, among others.