Former DeSoto schools Superintendent Cade Brumley selected as Louisiana’s education superintendent

New State Superintendent

By Charitee Blackmon | May 20, 2020 at 1:29 PM CDT - Updated May 20 at 3:52 PM

BATON ROUGE, La. (KSLA) — On Wednesday morning, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 8-3 to select former DeSoto schools Superintendent Cade Brumley as the state’s education superintendent.

Following is the video conference of then-education superintendent candidate Brumley being interviewed April 1 by BESE:

According to a tweet from The Associated Press, it took two rounds of voting before the board selected Brumley from among the three nominees.

Congratulations to former DeSoto Parish Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley on his appointment as Louisiana State Superintendent of Education. pic.twitter.com/e6WmYon8Ul
— DeSoto Parish Schools (@DesotoParish) May 20, 2020

Under Brumley’s leadership, DeSoto became an A-rated school district and went from being ranked 49th in the state to ninth.

Congratulations to Dr. Cade Brumley on his appointment as the newest State Superintendent of Education! He has long been...
Posted by Caddo Parish Public Schools on Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Brumley left DeSoto School District in 2018 to take over Jefferson, the largest school district in Louisiana.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued the following statement about Brumley being selected to oversee the state’s K-12 schools, which serve about 720,000 students:

“The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education made an important decision today with the selection of the new state superintendent of education. First, I want to congratulate him. With Dr. Brumley at the helm, the Department of Education will continue efforts to improve student achievement and to provide high quality education for all Louisiana students. Cade has a record of success as a teacher, coach, principal and as a superintendent of two districts, DeSoto and Jefferson parishes. What I know and appreciate about Cade is that as a leader he has a record of being inclusive. He has a seat at the table for everyone as he seeks and listens to input from all stakeholders. I look forward to working with Dr. Brumley to advance education in Louisiana. While the current public health emergency has certainly made our mission more difficult, education has never been more important. BESE is to be commended for the transparent search it conducted for the new state superintendent. Despite the challenges faced because of COVID-19, the board was able to conduct a search and follow the timeline it had created pre-virus. I commend everyone who applied and especially the other finalists as going through the selection process is never easy.”

— Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards

Among others congratulating Brumley is the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, which issued this statement:

"We look forward to partnering with Dr. Brumley and BESE to continue on an innovative policy pathway that prioritizes students and high-quality learning environments of all kinds. Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, a sense of urgency is especially critical to guide school districts and leaders to take bold and creative actions that guarantee a solid learning foundation for all students.”

— Louisiana Association of Business & Industry

Brumley replaces John White, who after eight years of being in charge of Louisiana schools announced his resignation in January. His resignation became effective March 11.