Edmond Heatley still in frame for New Orleans post

Dr Edmond Heatley is back.

No, not in Bermuda, but back in contention for that job he sought in New Orleans. 

Dr Heatley was one of four finalists for the Orleans Parish School Board superintendent post. Bermuda’s former Commissioner of Education then withdrew his application after a storm of controversy that questioned how committed he was to the island’s children.

Dr Heatley had only started as Bermuda’s Commissioner of Education in December but before the year was out, put his application in for the Orleans Parish job.

After Dr Heatley stepped down in April, former permanent secretary for the Ministry of Education Ross Webber — who also resigned just two weeks later and moved on to the Bermuda Business Development Agency as its CEO — said: “The last few weeks have been a challenging time for all involved with the education portfolio.”

Dr Lou Matthews was appointed as Acting Commissioner of Education. 

Mr Webber said at the time: “It is important that Dr. Matthews and the entire team in the Department of Education get the backing and support of our education stakeholders, and the whole community, as we move forward with the progression of our education system.”

Dr Heatley’s last day as Commissioner was April 30 and less than three weeks later, he was back in the running for the Orleans Parish job.

The Times-Picayune reports that Dr Heatley was shortlisted for the position along with former Memphis superintendent Kriner Cash and former New York City Schools COO Veronica Conforme. 

According to the Times-Picayune, “there was enough interest” from the school board that they reached out to Dr Heatley through consultant Bill Attea. Dr Heatley and the other two candidates received six of the seven votes from the board members to move forward, with one member abstaining. Second interviews are scheduled for June 11 to 20.