Nine Applicants vie for LPSS Head Spot

The names of the nine applicants to succeed Lafayette Parish School Board Superintendent Donald Aguillard as interim superintendent were released Monday afternoon.

Board President Justin Centanni and Vice-president Britt Latiolais opened the envelopes and read out the names of the applicants. They are:

* Brian Thomas Binggeli, Lucas, Texas: Binggeli had previously served as superintendent in Brevard Public Schools in Florida in 2009. In 2015 to assume the superintendent’s position of the Plano Independent School District in Texas, abruptly resigning from that job in 2017. He is currently also in consideration for the Bossier Parish Schools superintendent position.

* Larry E. Dichiara, Auburn, Alabama:  Dichiara last served as the chief administrative officer of the Selma, Alabama city schools, leaving that position in December of 2017 after almost four years. He had previously served for almost 10 years as the superintendent for the Phenix City, Alabama school system. Prior to that, he served for 11 years as a central office administrator for the Lee County, Alabama school district.

* Dee Oscar Fowler, Madison, Alabama: Fowler spent nearly three decades as an educator and administrator in the Madison City School System, serving as an assistant superintendent and nine years as superintendent before taking a position with the Alabama State Department of Education in 2017.

* Isaac Carrier, Spring, Texas: Carrier currently serves as an assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He served from 2015 to 2017 as the Spring Independent School District's assistant superintendent of administration. Previously, he served as the Dallas Independent School District's executive director of school leadership.

* Irma Trosclair, Eunice: Trosclair currently serves as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at LPSS. Previously, she was the LPSS School Improvement administrator from 2015 to April of 2018. Prior to that, she served two and a half years as principal of South Crowley Elementary School.

* Jerome Puyau, Erath: Puyau is the current superintendent of the Vermilion Parish School System.

* Bart Thibodeaux, Church Point: Thibodeaux is the current director of special education for LPSS. He was appointed to that position in 2013. Previously, he served as assistant principal at the David Thibodaux STEM Academy.

* Camacia Smith-Ross, Baton Rouge: Smith-Ross is currently the Executive Director for Pre-College and Outreach at Southern University in Baton Rouge. She was previously employed at Louisiana College, where she served as an associate professor, dean of the education department and director of the TEACH/MAT program.

* C. Michael Robinson Jr., Thibodaux:  Robinson served as the superintendent in Pine Bluff, Arkansas School District from 2016 to 2018, when the board there voted not to renew his contract which was to have extended through June of 2019. He previously served as the instructional director and director of priority schools for the Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland.

The LPSS’ department of human resources is currently preparing application packets for board members. Upon completion of that process, additional information will be made available.