Finalist for CPS CEO courted controversy in past jobs, but defenders praise his bold vision

When Meisha Porter, the former leader of New York City’s school system, withdrew her name from consideration to become the CEO of Chicago Public Schools last week, the district suddenly found itself with just two candidates for the job.

One of them is Macquline King, who has been serving as CPS’ interim leader since June. The former CPS principal did not make the cut to be a finalist back in the fall. But some board members have recently warmed up to her, citing how she’s handled contentious issues, such as the budget process and responding to aggressive immigration enforcement that impacted schools.

Given the dwindling field and protracted search, King’s standing appears to be rising.

The other is Sito Narcisse, a former leader of Louisiana’s second-largest school district who has been linked to controversies in his previous roles, leading some to question how he made it to be a finalist to lead the third-largest school district in the country with many red flags.

His work at times has been polarizing. In Baton Rouge, families sued him and the district over a controversial event he promoted. Early in his career in Boston, Narcisse was criticized for making sweeping changes at the school he led with little or no community input, a concern that would follow him.

Supporters say Narcisse has been a victim of local politics that have stymied his vision, calling him a “transformational leader” who moves fast to drive change and increase positive outcomes for students.

For his part, Narcisse says that while not everyone has supported all his moves, he’s made decisions with the best interests of students in mind.

“In every place I have been, outcomes for students and culture for staff have improved,” Narcisse wrote in an email to the Sun-Times/WBEZ.

Lawsuit and ties to ousted leader

One of the most notable controversies happened when Narcisse was superintendent of Louisiana’s East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, which he led from 2021 to 2024. It was the only time he’s served as the top leader of a school district.

Families filed a lawsuit against Narcisse and the school board in 2023 alleging the district misled parents when it promoted a career fair for seniors hosted at a local church that included overt religious messaging.

The families allege that organizers split high schoolers into groups by gender and had the boys compete in physical contests while girls were “graphically lectured by pastors and other religious figures about virginity, rape, abuse, and suicide and were told to ‘forgive’ their rapists and abusers,” according to the lawsuit.

Narcisse appeared on local television to promote the “Day of Hope” alongside one of the co-founders of the organizers, 29:11 Academy, whose name is a reference to the Bible, according to its website. They talked about how the event could help students find careers and make good choices, but didn’t mention any religious components.

Board members have said that they were out of the loop because the district allows the superintendent to award contracts worth less than $10,000 without board approval. This contract totaled $9,800.

Narcisse has denied the allegations in the lawsuit, which is ongoing, and the case is heading to a possible trial, according to court records.

In response to questions about the event, Narcisse wrote in an email that the “Day of Hope” was established 10 years before he became superintendent and he was “not aware of any religious components.” He said “the focus was on motivating students to stay in school, explore their futures, and think about next steps.”

Michael Gaudet, who was on the East Baton Rouge school board at the time, and is still a member, defended Narcisse, saying the situation was “drummed up” by an attorney “who is a publicity hound.” Some participants said they enjoyed the event.

“We could have probably done a better job of monitoring that, but none of the allegations have ever been proven true,” Gaudet said.

He pointed to the school board’s internal investigation which “found no evidential proof” of the claims, though several students and parents spoke to local news outlets to express concerns. Some board members introduced a resolution calling for an independent investigation, but that was voted down.

Gaudet said the situation was like “a tempest in a teapot… There was nothing to it.”

In 2023 the school board narrowly voted not to renew Narcisse’s contract amid a debate about a pay raise. He agreed to a voluntary buyout and stepped down after three years in charge. A group of supporters rallied to keep him.

Gaudet said the decision not to renew Narcisse’s contract wasn’t due to his performance. He said that six new board members were voted onto the nine-member body during Narcisse’s tenure, and most wanted to move in a different direction.

A few years earlier, Narcisse faced a turbulent tenure as the chief of schools at Metro Nashville Public Schools, where he was second-in-command to director of schools Shawn Joseph. Joseph hired Narcisse after the two worked together at Prince George’s County Public Schools in suburban Maryland.

Joseph’s three-year tenure in Nashville was marked by a string of controversies, including claims that he mishandled allegations of sexual harassment against a principal and complaints that he attempted to award no-bid contracts. A veteran administrator also accused the district of pay discrimination between men and women in high-level positions and said Narcisse, her boss at the time, questioned her performance when she dug into the district’s salary data.

In response to questions from the Sun-Times/WBEZ, Narcisse said he did not make salary decisions when he worked in Nashville.

The board eventually decided to buy out Joseph’s contract. Narcisse voluntarily left the district shortly after.

Amy Frogge, who was on the school board in Nashville at the time and was among Joseph’s most outspoken critics, said that while Joseph was the face of the controversies, Narcisse likely knew what the superintendent was up to as his No. 2.

"They were extremely close, they were friends,” Frogge said. "It was a painful few years in Nashville when they were there.”

Some bristle at leadership style, while others celebrate it

Some teachers and former school board members who worked alongside Narcisse have criticized his leadership style, saying he has a bold vision for education but has sometimes overlooked community concerns.

Dawn Chanet Collins, who served on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board when Narcisse was superintendent, said his ideas sometimes clashed with those of longtime staff and community members who felt he needed to better understand the makeup of the district before making changes.

“Each instance where he made decisions that resulted in public chaos he was advised otherwise by staff who would explain the possible consequences of various decisions,” said Collins, who was often vocal when she disagreed with his decisions. “He appeared to not either hear or not care about the potential issues that were being raised.”

For example, when Narcisse wanted to equitably deal with staffing shortages ahead of the 2022-2023 school year, he decided to reassign teachers and other staff to schools that were understaffed. Hundreds of employees were told their positions were eliminated and they could apply for the vacant positions at other schools or be reassigned.

It’s the kind of shakeup that would be hard to pull off without criticism. Some community members supported the initiative, saying those speaking out against it mostly came from schools that already had plenty of resources.

But employees who were happy with their roles were upset, saying it disrupted school communities and programs and took away principal autonomy. Parents protested at board meetings. Several board members criticized Narcisse for not working with them on the changes. One said his top-down management was “breeding mistrust.”

Narcisse’s supporters say his initiatives focus on what’s best for students and the pushback stems from resistance to altering the status quo.

“When you talk about change, that can sometimes be uncomfortable but it’s for the better good of students,” said Dadrius Lanus, who served as school board president in East Baton Rouge Parish when Narcisse was superintendent and is still on the board.

“Every superintendent is going to have some pushback from the community, but the question is, the moves that he was able to make, did it better our district? And I would say absolutely,” Lanus said.

Lanus pointed to the “Pathways to Bright Futures” program that Narcisse spearheaded as an example. The program helps high schoolers earn college credits or career credentials. Lanus also said Narcisse was responsible for expanding kindergarten access in the district, among other accomplishments.

But to Ursula Parkerson, a teacher in East Baton Rouge Parish, Narcisse “came in like a wrecking ball” and pushed forward with his plans despite concerns from the community. That dynamic led to low morale among educators, said Parkerson, a member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators, a local teachers union.

“He was wanting to make big changes and not really caring, it felt like to us, about who got railroaded in the process,” Parkerson said.

Narcisse faced similar criticisms early in his career, too. As the leader of a struggling public high school in Boston, he tried several controversial turnaround strategies including eliminating the grade “D,” establishing single-sex classrooms and getting rid of many staffers. Three-quarters of the school’s teachers and administrators left, according to The Boston Globe, and while test scores ticked up slightly, the dropout rate, failure rate and absentee rate all rose, as well.

Gaudet pushed back on critics who said Narcisse didn’t take input from others into account, though he conceded that Narcisse might have moved too quickly at times in Baton Rouge.

“I would say his philosophy towards leadership is always what’s best for the kids and his leadership style is very collaborative,” Gaudet said. “I think maybe he tried to do a little too much too fast, but it was in a desire to move the needle.”

Lanus said he wished East Baton Rouge Parish had kept Narcisse on.

“If Chicago Public Schools were to select him, they are literally selecting somebody who can take the district to the next level,” Lanus said. “They’re going to get a transformational leader.”