Superintendent Keith Burton told the Caddo Parish School Board executive committee on Jan. 7 that his first 100 days focused on three priorities—leadership and support, expanded choices for families, and stronger direct support to schools—and outlined a package of proposals the district would bring to the board this spring and during the budget cycle.

Burton, identified in the meeting as the new superintendent of Caddo Parish Public Schools, said the district will propose opening two open‑enrollment preK–8 campuses in fall 2025 (JS Clark Academy and Broadmoor STEM Academy), expand career and technical education access, form a truancy and student‑support group, and reorganize central office staff to move existing positions into on‑campus support roles. "Nothing would matter if we did not have quality leaders in place," Burton said, summarizing the values that guided his early priorities.

Why it matters: Burton framed the recommendations as responses to community feedback and student needs. He said neighborhood data, juvenile court observations and surveys pointed to chronic absenteeism, special‑education needs, and concentrated poverty as drivers of poor outcomes; several of his proposals aim to change schedules, staffing and access rather than rely on one‑time grants. He repeatedly emphasized the district would reassign existing staff rather than immediately add large numbers of new positions.

Key proposals and details

- Two open‑enrollment academies: Burton asked the board to consider at its next meeting a request to open two preK–8 open‑enrollment campuses for fall 2025. "There will be no entrance, no GPA, no test to take requirement," he said. The initial sites named were JS Clark (to function as a career exploration campus) and Broadmoor (to be a STEM academy). Families in the academies' attendance zones will retain automatic access; out‑of‑zone students may enroll during open registration; district transportation will be provided for students living more than one mile from their chosen campus. Registration is planned for spring 2025.

- Career and technical education (CTE): Burton said the district will increase exposure to CTE in middle grades (tours, mentorships, shadowing) and expand both centralized career‑center offerings and satellite CTE pathways at high schools. He emphasized there are currently no minimum GPA prerequisites to attend the career center and described plans to align schedules, credentials and business partnerships so students can earn marketable certifications.

- High‑school schedule options: Burton asked the board to consider moving away from a seven‑period day toward block schedules (examples discussed included a 4x4 semester system). Staff told board members earlier estimates for converting high schools to a block schedule were in the millions; Burton and staff said preliminary figures discussed internally ranged from roughly $9 million to $11 million, driven primarily by recurring staffing cost changes.

- Truancy and student support: After a joint visit to juvenile court, Burton proposed creating a focused team to address chronic absenteeism and extreme student behaviors, and to concentrate support on the district’s lowest‑performing students. He cited research and district materials in his presentation: he said children missing 10% or more of school days are "7.4 times more likely to drop out of high school," and that studies link chronic truancy to higher juvenile‑justice involvement and substance use; he attributed those figures during his remarks.

- Central office reorganization and pay priorities: Burton described reorganizing central office to create a chief of school support position and to redeploy personnel to schools; he said the move saved "well over $100,000" (staff later suggested the figure could be about $150,000 when benefits are included). He also asked the board to prioritize a roughly 5% pay increase for certified personnel during the upcoming budget cycle and a larger differentiated increase for employees earning under $25,000.

Board business and procedural items

At the end of the session the executive committee considered the proposed agenda for the Jan. 21 board meeting. Vice President Yates moved to approve the proposed agenda and consent agenda as presented; the motion was seconded by Mary Tremeo and approved by the members present. The committee left one policy (FEA, architectural and engineering services) off the consent agenda for additional review. Burton and staff also noted multiple policy revisions submitted by the district’s policy vendor to comply with the 2024 legislative session; board counsel said most of those changes stemmed from state statute.

Public comment and board reaction

Public commenters praised Burton’s outreach and asked for transparency on policy revisions. Jackie Lansdowne, identified as president of Redford View, said employee‑related policies are "sacrosanct" and asked for an opportunity to review changes before they are adopted. Mary Nash Robinson, a longtime district employee who attended the meeting, offered public praise for Burton's first 100 days.

What’s next

Burton said he will return to the board with formal proposals and budget figures: a request to authorize the two open‑enrollment K–8 academies (registration details were presented), a staffing/resource alignment plan for central office, a plan for the truancy/student‑support team, and a budget proposal for the block schedule analysis and possible implementation. He repeatedly said some items will require further analysis, partner coordination and budgetary choices by the board.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve the proposed Jan. 21, 2025 board agenda and consent agenda (FEA and 8.04 removed/not on consent): Mover — Vice President Yates; Second — Mary Tremeo; Outcome — approved (vote tally not specified in the transcript).

- Motion to adjourn the Jan. 7 executive work session: Mover — Vice President Yates; Second — Mary Tremeo; Outcome — approved.

(Reporting note: the superintendent’s presentation and the policy‑revision discussion are summarized from the January 7, 2025 executive work session. Board votes recorded in the transcript were procedural and limited to approving the next meeting agenda and adjourning; other items Burton described were proposals or requests to be returned to the full board with details.)