BATON ROUGE - A meeting originally intended to select a new superintendent for the East Baton Rouge School System led to deputies having to guard the board members and crowds being heated amid allegations of racism, but ultimately ended with nothing to show for it. 

2une In's Mia Monet recapped the meeting from Thursday night. 

The meeting, held on July 11, was originally meant to meet the deadline of selecting a new superintendent for the school system. 

With nine people on the school board, four of them voted for candidate Kevin George, just one vote short of making a decision—the other five voted to abstain, bringing the meeting to a halt and leaving the decision in deadlock. 

During the meeting, school board member Carla Powell Lewis warned George that "if I were you, I would run the hell away from here."

The disagreement largely stems from the removal of Adam Smith from the ballot. Smith served as interim superintendent since January 2024. 

Members of the teachers union plan a sick-out if Smith is not selected. 

The union said they feel that the lack of explanation of choosing Andrea Zayas and Kevin George as the finalists, and the withdrawal of Krish Mohip, was a negligent act against the community because of the outpour of support for Adam Smith. They feel there is a lack of transparency between the school board and the community. 

The next vote is scheduled for next Thursday, July 18.