La. Supt. John White Falsely Credentials Himself with BESE Member James Garvey’s Help
In order to have his or her contract renewed, a state education superintendent in Louisiana must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the state board of education every time a new state board is elected every four years.
That would be 8 out of 11 state board members.
In January 2012, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved John White for state superintendent by a vote of 9 to 1, with one abstention. They offered him this contract.
In January 2016, White’s contract renewal did not come up for a vote because only seven members of the newly-elected/appointed BESE board can be counted on to vote for contract renewal.
What this means is that as Louisiana state superintendent, John White is now a month-to-month employee. As it stands, BESE is locked in a holding pattern where a majority of 7 are holding on to White (and will not seek a replacement), but without the ability to sway one more vote, this majority cannot offer White another contract. (To read about the office of Louisiana state superintendent, including terms of appointment and continued employment, see page 3 of this Title 28 excerpt.)
In order to be Louisiana state superintendent, White does not need any certification or licensure. And to be state superintendent, he does not need any minimum number of years in the classroom.
However, it seems that not long after the 2016 BESE board was seated, White quietly credentialed himself as a certified “educational leader” in Louisiana.
In fact, White now has three Louisiana certificates on file, all for educational leader– levels 1 through 3:
White’s certificates for educational leader 1 and educational leader 2 were issued on La. Supt. John White Falsely Credentials Himself with BESE Member James Garvey’s Help | deutsch29:
