The Allen Parish School Board voted 6-2 Monday to extend current Superintendent Kent Reed’s contract through Sept. 1 to allow the board more time to decide on a  permanent leader.

The board also set a second round of open interviews for 5 p.m. Monday, July 10, for the superintendent applicants. The district’s Child Welfare, Attendance and Transportation Supervisor Kenney Courville and Secondary Supervisor of Instruction and Assessment Brad Soileau are the only two applicants being considered by the board.

Reed, who was set to retire at the end of June, was granted an extra 60 days on his contract at his current compensation while the board finishes its selection process to appoint the next superintendent.

The board was originally aiming to hire its next superintendent by the end of June, but continues to struggle to select its next superintendent after seven votes have left the board with a 4-4 deadlock.

Reed said he would be willing to stay for two more months to help the board, but said he could not go any longer.

“Sixty days is all I can do,” Reed told the board. “Sept.1 that would be it. If I got a 60 day extension on my current contract, you don’t have to renew it or do anything, we can just move forward. But if you need more than 60 days than I’m not the guy that you need because I am not going to be here past Sept. 1. If you need to go beyond the next two months, then you need to go with someone else.”

Reed said he did not want to see the district suffer from not having a superintendent in place before the start of school in six weeks. July is the school district’s busiest month, he said.

“The last thing we need to do is be walking around this office and nobody knows who is in charge,” he said.

Board member Carolyn Manuel moved, without hesitation, to offer a motion to extend Reed’s contract for 60 days while the board continues to pursue a new superintendent.

“We are at the time when these schools need to be ready and there’s nobody else that can hit the ground running on July 1 better than Mr. Reed can because he knows the job,” Manuel said. “….Why would we want to bring someone in, make some changes, then the new superintendent takes over and makes more changes.”

Attorney Bob Hammonds, who represents School Boards across the state, said summer is critical and the board needs to have somebody in position to start the new school year.

“This is not actually the best time of year to be switching, right when you are trying to get the system off to a start,” Hammonds said.

Manuel, along with board members Karen Reed, Kevin Tyler, Pete Cavenah, Greg Moncreaux and Carleen Mahaffey voted to extend Reed’s contract. Board members Sally Moreaux and Cathy Farris voted against the extension.

“I think we need a resolution to go forward and not skip a beat,” Tyler said, “I think Mr. Reed’s appointment will be a continuation of our district for the next 60 days while we come to a conclusion. I think it’s too convenient not to do it. It makes too much sense to keep him on board.”

After the meeting, Moreaux said keeping Reed on as superintendent will not change anything and will delay him from enjoying the retirement he has earned after 37 years.

“He is the best person for the job because he is already in the job, but this is just going to prolong things,” Moreaux said after the meeting. “I think we as a board need to get together and come up with something because Mr. Kent has put in his years of service and he deserves his retirement. It is selfish of us to ask him to stay.”

Farris said keeping Reed in the position will slow down the process of selecting a new superintendent.

The board also agreed to hold a second round of interviews for the applicants on July 10.

The board will receive questions from the public via its website. School Board members will also submit questions.