Less than 24 hours after announcing his plans to re-apply for his old job, Sito Narcisse has dropped from the running for superintendent of Baton Rouge schools, according to Christel Slaughter, chief executive officer of the search firm, Baton Rouge-based SSA Consultants.
Narcisse announced late Tuesday that he intended to apply for the job he previously held for three years, an hour after the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted to reopen applications to fill the job he vacated in January. He's now removed himself from the running.
The board's bid for applicants came after a contentious superintendent search that has fallen into a stalemate and compelled State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley to intervene.
Narcisse was one of a dozen new applicants who were given until noon Wednesday to apply to lead Louisiana's second largest school district. The board is scheduled to interview as many as three finalists, starting at 4 p.m., and make a final selection immediately afterwards.
"In order to unite the city and get back to the work on focusing on kids, it is better for me to withdraw and for us to rally around the board and staff to choose the superintendent," Narcisse said in an email to The Advocate. "I look forward to seeing our city and children succeeding."
During his three years as superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Narcisse proved an ambitious but divisive leader, supported by some community and business leaders, but disliked by many rank-and-file employees. His job was made more difficult after the 2022 elections installed six new members to the board. He also upset some locals when he applied to be superintendent of Broward County, Fla., in May 2023, where he was a finalist but fell short of landing the job. He also weathered heavy criticism last August when an unexpected student transportation crisis plunged the school district into weeks of turmoil.