Superintendent applications littered with errors

Four individuals applied for the job, but the School Board is considering applications from only three: St. John the Baptist Parish Schools Director of Human Resources Curt Green, Ouachita Parish Schools’ Assistant Superintendent Todd Guice and former West Monroe High School Principal Ernest “Buddy” Reed.

“Our plan is to move as quickly as possible through it without rushing,” said School Board President Tommy Comeaux. “I think we have three good applicants, and I think one of these three will do an excellent job for us.”

The superintendent of Ouachita Parish Schools is responsible for overseeing the education of more than 17,000 students in a school district with an annual general fund budget of more than $140 million.

In his application to the School Board, Guice’s typographical errors ranged from failing to spell words correctly to neglecting proper punctuation. For example, Guice misspelled “communication” when he wrote how he hoped the district could, under his leadership, maintain “commincation” with people in the area. Other spelling errors included references to “activie students” instead of “active students” or his plans for the school system to provide “quaality” instruction.

In his application for the superintendent job, Green left unnecessary words in one statement about his “tenure with as a School Improvement Coach.” In his letter and resumé, Green incorrectly spelled Johns Hopkins University, a private university in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the name of its Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Education.

In his application, Reed misspelled “Chick-fil-A,” “this,” “credibility,” “experienced,” “led,” “of,” “established,” “gained” and “built” among other typographical errors.

Each candidates’ letter, resumé and online application were typed, not handwritten.

Guice, Green and Reed’s applications are available online at ouachitacitizen.com

Each of the three candidates obtained proper certification to serve as a superintendent, if hired.

“I think it’s going to be as competitive as it can be with the fact that we’re interviewing three—all three qualified and one formerly from here,” said Superintendent Don Coker. “I think it’s going to be a competitive process and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Coker announced his retirement earlier this year and plans to leave his position on July 4 after a new superintendent has been hired and trained.

Comeaux said the interviews were scheduled for Feb. 13.

“The interviews are supposed to start at noon, allow an hour and a half for each interview with a 10-minute break in between and then go to the next person,” Comeaux said. “We intend to go alphabetically.”

Green is currently the director of human resources at St. John the Baptist Parish School System in LaPlace. He began his job in 2021 and is responsible for coordinating all administrative activities.

Previously, Green served as principal of four different schools in Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana and Alaska. He also served as assistant principal at two schools and spent three years as a school improvement coach, during which time he helped improve academic scores at low-performing schools.

Green has 26 years of experience working in education. In his application, he said he had completed three leadership programs designed for superintendents.

“I continue to believe leadership is a privilege and not a burden,” said Green in his application. “I have a strong passion for educating all students and despite the myriad of inequalities that currently exist throughout education, ensuring that all students receive this inalienable right is among my top priorities.”

Guice, who works as the assistant superintendent and personnel director for Ouachita Parish Schools, has worked for the parish school system since 1989. He started his career in 1989 as a student coach at Ouachita Junior High School and has served as principal of both Ouachita Junior Hugh School and Ouachita Parish High School.

Guice said his experience in the Ouachita Parish School system had prepared him to lead the district.

“Our district can and will continue to be a leader in our area by continuing to concentrate and grow in the areas of safety, academic performance, student enrollment, employee support, extra and co-curricular activities and transparent and consistent [communication] with our stakeholders,” Guice said. 

Reed, who served as assistant principal and principal at West Monroe High School in the 1980s and 1990s, is currently retired. He lives in College Station, Texas. His most recent work included serving as the director of athletics at the College Station Independent School District. He retired last year.

Reed also served as the Lafourche Parish Public Schools superintendent from 2003 to 2007. Before that time, he worked for the parish school system from 1973 to 2003. 

“We will start with great culture within each school that affects all that we do,” Reed said in his application. “Our staff will know they must let each student and parent know that we care about them and their success.”

Ouachita Citizen news editor Zach Parker contributed to this news report.