Board authorizes president to negotiate one‑year contract with Superintendent Dr. Shirley Lewis, tasks personnel committee with search plan

The Board of Directors of the Louisiana Special School District voted March 24 to authorize the board president to negotiate a one‑year employment agreement with Superintendent Dr. Shirley Lewis, with the understanding that contract terms will be presented to the full board at its May 5 meeting.

Patrick Quinn moved the measure, saying he sought authority "to negotiate terms of an employment agreement that establishes a one‑year contract with Dr. Lewis ... beginning on March 24th, 2026" and to allow the board to set performance measures while the search for a permanent replacement continues. Liam Dole seconded the motion. A roll‑call vote recorded affirmative votes from the members present and the motion passed.

The vote follows a legal briefing from Ty Maner, the district's general counsel, who told the board that state statute (cited in the meeting as Louisiana Revised Statute Title 17 §145.1) gives the board authority to select a superintendent and that the board's bylaws set quorum and majority requirements. Maner recommended using the procedures in Title 17 §54 as a practical model for conducting a search even though that statute applies to local school districts rather than the state special school district.

The personnel committee — composed for this task of Patrick Quinn, Liam Dole, Sandy Holloway, Maria Annis and board president Jessica White — was directed to prepare a plan to conduct the superintendent search and to present that plan to the full board by the May 5 meeting. Maner noted the committee and full board must respect quorum and voting rules and discussed options including the use of outside search consultants.

Public commenters raised related concerns during the meeting: a late commenter asked whether Dr. Lewis would remain for a year during the search and urged the board to fill vacant seats representing members of the deaf community so that those voices participate in the hiring process.

Next steps: the president is to begin negotiating contract terms for a one‑year engagement with Dr. Lewis and the personnel committee will draft and bring a search plan to the May 5 board meeting for consideration.