Three career educators are vying to be the next superintendent of Broward County Public Schools — stepping up to lead the country’s sixth largest school district and its more than 256,000 students.
School board members have acknowledged the search for the next leader has been made more difficult by Florida’s divisive education politics and BCPS’s reputation for infighting and dysfunction.
The three semifinalists for Broward school board superintendent fielded questions from a group of 10 principals and 18 community members as part of a marathon of interview panels Wednesday.
The principals, representing a mix of high, middle and elementary schools as well as alternative schools, asked candidates about communication between schools and the school board, plans for nontraditional schools and how they plan to include principals in big picture decisions.
The community stakeholders included regular speakers at school board meetings, teachers, parents and heads of advocacy groups. They asked questions ranging from the candidates' views on teacher protections from political persecution, parental involvement in curriculum and building back trust in the district.
The questions were prepared beforehand and read verbatim to each candidate.
The three finalists for the job are:
- Peter Licata, Regional Superintendent, School District of Palm Beach County
- Sito Narcisse, Superintendent, East Baton Rouge Parish School System
- Luis Solano, Deputy Superintendent of Labor, Detroit Public Schools Community District
Board members selected the three finalists from a pool of 31 total applicants, 17 of whom were deemed qualified for the position. The three will visit Broward County on Wednesday for a series of forums with principals and stakeholders, beginning at 9:15 am.
The forums will be open to the public and will take place in the board room at the district’s Kathleen C. Wright Administrative Building at 600 SE 3rd Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale. A livestream of the forums will be available here. More information on the schedule of the events is available here.
READ MORE: Consultant says Florida politics are driving away Broward superintendent candidates
On Thursday, the school board is scheduled to hold a special meeting to interview the three finalists and vote on which one will be the next superintendent. The meeting will be open to the public and is set to begin at 9 am. It will also be livestreamed on the district’s website.
The next superintendent of BCPS will face a flurry of challenges — declining enrollment and the resulting financial constraints, intense political scrutiny from state officials, and the continuing aftermath of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Above all, the next superintendent needs to be a “change agent” with a decisive leadership style, says Anna Fusco, the president of the Broward Teachers Union.
“A strong, top leader that has the background knowledge that will get it done and won't let people come in and intimidate,” Fusco said. “We do need a strong superintendent to come in that has a plan to get things done. And really … if he's going to make a decision, stick by it.”
Read below for a profile of the three finalists, based on their applications, along with some of their answers from Wednesday's meetings.
Dr. Peter Licata
Licata has worked for the School District of Palm Beach County for nearly three decades, beginning as a classroom teacher and a coach, then becoming an assistant principal and principal and ultimately moving into district administration. In his current role, Licata oversees the 60 schools in SDPBC’s South Region, which borders Broward County. He holds a PhD in Global Leadership from Lynn University and is a Broward native. Licata is a frequent applicant to superintendent searches across Florida and previously was a semifinalist for the Broward search that led to the selection of former Superintendent Vickie Cartwright.
On Wednesday, Licata spoke about his upbringing in Broward and leaned heavily on his experience to answer questions.
“I don't need to learn the system. I don't need to learn legislation,” said Licata, the only finalist currently working in the state.
At times his answers were specific, others focused more on his philosophy as a leader.
“I am next to you and not in front of you — next to you. Not behind you, pushing you [but] next to you,” he told principals.
Read Licata's full application here.
Dr. Sito Narcisse
Narcisse is the only sitting superintendent who applied to lead Broward schools. He’s been at the helm of the East Baton Rouge school district since 2021. Narcisse is the son of Haitian immigrants and grew up speaking Haitian Creole and French at home and learning English in school, which he said helped inspire him to become an educator. Narcisse began his career as a classroom French teacher in Williamson County, TN, before moving on to posts in the Pittsburgh, Boston, Nashville and Washington, D.C., public school systems, working as an assistant principal, principal and district administrator. He holds an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Pittsburgh.
Narcisse told principals about how he runs the school district in East Baton Rouge.
“It takes a collective approach … it’s not only just students — it's the teachers, it's also the community and so that's my approach to the work,” he said.
He repeatedly stressed the importance of breaking down the large district into smaller areas in order to meet the specific needs of those places.
“When communities do not feel connected to the system … no matter what you do, even if it’s the right thing, there’s a level of distrust that begins to build … that does not help you move the work,” he said.
Read Narcisse's full application here.
Luis Solano
Solano immigrated to the U.S. with his parents and siblings at age 9 and went on to become the first in his family to graduate high school, according to his biography. He’s a Spanish speaker who served in the U.S. Army before starting his education career as a teacher in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Solano has also worked as an assistant principal, principal and district administrator in MDCPS and in Collier County Public Schools. He joined the Detroit public school system in 2017, working as the Chief Operating Officer and a Deputy Superintendent. Solano is pursuing an EdD in Curriculum and Assessment from the University of West Florida.
Solano told principals that he would be their "partner," and not just their leader. Answering a question about improving student transition to high school, he said that middle school “needs to go back to be in a gentler place for students, so that they can explore themselves and ... begin to explore their futures.”
He took the shortest amount of time to make it through questioning from principals and community members. At one point during questioning over state laws restricting what can be taught in schools, a community member spoke out. “The candidate vying for a position in this district should have more information about the district to answer the questions ,” said Narnike Pierre-Grant.
"I have not fully caught up with this bill,” Solano responded when asked about how he would enforce the parental bill of rights law. “I am learning the district as I go along.”
Read Solano's full application here.
This is an update of a story first published at 6:00 a.m. on Jun. 14
