Recovery district loses key leader

Kelvin Adams, the Recovery School District administrator long touted as a top choice to succeed Paul Vallas as superintendent, will leave New Orleans for the chief job in the St. Louis school district. Adams, a native of New Orleans who worked his way up through the school system, served most recently as Vallas' chief of staff.

While Vallas and State Superintendent Paul Pastorek said they are confident that Adams' departure will not disrupt the district's momentum, the city will lose a veteran administrator who earned the trust of many educators working in the schools. Vallas often said he hoped Adams would succeed him. He said Friday that he plans over the next couple of months to look for someone else to groom as the next superintendent.

Vallas' own contract ends in June, and rumors have swirled that he might run for elective office in Illinois, his home state, although he said Friday that he would be open to staying with the RSD beyond this school year. Vallas is a Chicago native, and his family still lives in the Chicago area.
Adams' leaving "is going to set me back a little," he said. "Obviously, we want to bring someone in who we really can groom to be superintendent." But Vallas added that "we have a lot of really high-quality candidates for his slot, and the bench has gotten considerably deeper" over the past year. He said Friday that Rayne Martin, the chief information officer for the RSD, will fill in as interim chief of staff. Martin, 34, is a Shreveport native recruited by Vallas to the district. Adams could not be reached for comment Friday. He told reporters in St. Louis Friday morning that he will most likely start his new job the week of Oct. 20. He makes an annual salary of $170,000 in New Orleans. In St. Louis, he will have a three-year contract and an annual salary of $225,000.

Pastorek called Adams "a special guy" who is "not easily replaceable." He added that a chief criterion in finding a replacement will be whether the person "believes in the kind of reforms that Paul has put in place and will sustain them." Courtesy of Sarah Carr of The Times-Picayune


SLPS ParentsMovement to Support Dr. Kelvin Adams.