Faulk Led Way to Excellence for Central

Central schools Supt. Mike Faulk, who built the Central Community School System brick by brick from the ground up, will resign his position December 31, 2017, to become the Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents. Faulk was the first person hired by the Central School Board in early 2007. Since then, he has done what few people have done in modern times — create an independent school system.

After voters statewide approved a constitutional amendment to create the Central school system in 2006, the new Central Community School Board was appointed and took office in early 2007. One of the board’s first actions was to begin a search for a new superintendent. Several candidates applied, including some well respected local candidates.
Faulk, a Cajun from Iberia Parish who had served as superintendent in Morehouse Parish and as a high school principal in Texas, was considered a long shot. Nevertheless, after extensive interviews and public hearings, Faulk was selected and became the first employee of the new school system.

Central was scheduled to take over the four public schools located in Central from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System on July 1, 2007. At the time, EBR was struggling and ranked No. 58 out of Louisiana’s 69 school systems.
The four existing public schools in Central — Bellingrath Hills Elementary, Tanglewood Elementary, Central Middle, and Central High — were in generally poor physical condition, especially Central Middle School, which was laced with asbestos and had been partially condemned.

Working with a supportive and generally non-political school board, Faulk developed a plan and began interviewing and hiring personnel. He put high value on the credentials and qualifications of applicants and appeared to stay away from hiring people based on political connections.

At Central High School, which was a relatively high performing school, he kept most of the personnel in place. In contrast, at Tanglewood, which had been performing poorly, he only retained four of 31 faculty members.The EBR school board refused to allow Central to have access to the schools prior to July 1, 2007, to determine the conditions. When possession was finally handed over, Supt. Faulk, Central school board members, and members of the public including many who had attended the schools, were shocked at the conditions. The opening of school was only a few weeks away, and something had to happen fast.

Members of the Central community sprang to the rescue, and hundreds of volunteers showed up to help. They cleaned, painted, repaired and replaced. Altogether, more than 10,000 volunteer hours were invested. Central business leaders and others organized Cookin for Our Schools and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in start-up funds, since no parish or state funds were available.
When all was said and done, the volunteers and donated funds plus the hard work of Supt. Faulk, the board, and the new faculty members came together, and the Central school system opened on Monday, August 13, 2007! It was the beginning of whole new era not only in Central but in Louisiana, as the Central school system joined the Zachary Community School System in creating a new standard of excellence in public education in the state.

Only about 2,500 students residing in Central had attended public schools in the 2006-2007 school year, but attendance in the new Central school system began to rise rapidly. Supt. Faulk recommended and the school board agreed on the creation of a new school, Central Intermediate School, which was temporarily located at the former site of Starkey Academy on Joor Road.

Supt. Faulk asked the board to seek voter approval for construction of new schools, but the $100 million proposal was voted down. The board came back with a more conservative $54 million proposal that included creation of a new Central School Complex on Sullivan Road. The voters approved this proposal, and the new school complex, which included Central Intermediate School and Central Middle School, were built.

Along the way, the commitment to excellence began to pay off. In Louisiana Department of Education school performance score ratings, the Central Community School System rose rapidly. Tanglewood Elementary, once a struggling school, had the state’s highest performing 3rd graders for five straight years (3rd grade is now at CIS). Central High School was rated an A school. Then the entire school system was rated an A school system.

Today the Central school system is much larger. Even after the flood, the system has 4,500 students. Now in the Louisiana Department of Education’s school performance ratings, the Central Community School System is the No. 2 ranked school system in the state, trailing just behind No. 1 ranked Zachary. However, Central High School outperforms Zachary High in some important ways.

During his time as superintendent of the Central school system, Supt. Faulk’s influence in state education matters has grown tremendously. He had retired even before accepting the appointment to Central in 2007. Today he is recognized as an elder statesman among school leaders in the state. He was named Superintendent of the Year in Louisiana and served as President of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents. Later he was honored as National School Superintendent of the Year. He is often called upon to represent school superintendents at the legislature and on various boards and commissions. He is known as the state’s foremost expert on school finance, especially the Minimum Foundation Program.

Both Supt. Faulk and the Central school board insisted on being very conservative with tax dollars. As a result, when the flood of August 2016 came and inundated Tanglewood Elementary, they had the cash on hand to begin rebuilding almost immediately. Tanglewood reopened in early January. In contrast, some school systems are only now beginning to rebuild their schools.

In an interview with the Central City News after his announcement, Supt. Faulk said his time in Central has been a period of tremendous challenge which he has enjoyed immensely. He said he loves his staff, faculty, and many colleagues in the Central school system; the school board which he praised for their tireless work, high ethical standards, and loyal support; the taxpayers and citizens of Central, and the thousands of students who have make his work worthwhile.

He said he is looking forward to a new challenge as leader of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents. He said the board will choose his successor, and he will play no role in it.

“One of the most important reasons for our success as a system is our school board. They have no hidden agenda. Their only concern is what’s best for this community and our students. They are solid, which is why I know they can be trusted to make a good decision in choosing the next superintendent,” he said. Meanwhile, Supt. Faulk will be on the job until December 31.