Caddo Parish judge rejects lawsuit that would've stopped superintendent hire

(The Center Square) — A Louisiana judge rejected a lawsuit that would've prevented the hiring of the finalist for the Caddo Parish superintendent was denied.

Caddo Parish District Court Judge Brady O'Callaghan explained why he rejected it in a decision released on Tuesday.

"The petition for a temporary restraining order fails to articulate how an interview with a proposed candidate works 'immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage' on the plaintiffs or any other person," O'Callaghan wrote. "None of the complained-of conduct or possible actions of the Caddo Parish School Board and the Superintendent are beyond judicial review and therefore cannot be deemed legally 'irreparable.'"

O'Callaghan said the proposed temporary restraining order also fails to describe in reasonable detail the act or acts to be restrained but instead refers to the petition.

Although the immediate actions were denied, the judge did say that he would hear the request for a preliminary and/or permanent injunction against the school board. He set that matter for a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 17 in Caddo District Court.

The Caddo Parish Public Schools Board interviewed the lone finalist, chief academic officer Keith Burton, in a board meeting held on Wednesday.

The decision came the same day Roy Cary and the nonprofit groups The Peoples Promise Youth Division and All Streets All People filed the suit.

The plaintiffs claimed, with only one of six finalists scheduled to interview and that finalist being white, that the hiring team did not do their due diligence in picking the best candidate.

The Shreveport-based school district has 59 schools and 34,746 students and is located in northwest Louisiana.