In a School Board meeting that lasted past midnight Thursday, the chief of staff of the Hamilton County Schools, Nakia Towns, lost a bid to become superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish District.
Ms. Towns, 46, lost in a 5-4 vote to Leslie Brown, 62, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Racial issues arose in the long meeting, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. There was a long debate over changing the name of Lee High School.
Ms. Brown is white and Ms. Towns is black. The vote was along racial lines except a black board member voted for Ms. Brown and a white board member voted for Ms. Towns.
The Advocate said after the vote, the publisher of The Rouge Collection newspaper was highly critical of the black board member who voted for Ms. Brown. He wrote, “You failed us. You voted against a black woman tonight.”