Cecil J. Picard - Colleagues Remember Picard

Colleagues Remember Picard

Walter Lee, the superintendent of DeSoto Parish in north Louisiana and the former school chief in Caddo Parish as well, said that Picard was "the best politician I'd ever seen, and he'd chuckle and say, 'I'm not a politician. I'm a statesman.'" Lee said that he considered Picard to have been the most effective of all Louisiana superintendents. Picard was particularly known for the implementation of an accountability program that was recognized nationwide.

State Representative Jane H. Smith, a Republican from Bossier City, and herself a former superintendent in Bossier Parish, described Picard as "a warrior and a fighter. He was right there until the very end, doing what he could. He had a passion for the job."

Picard participated in an experimental drug program in a vain attempt to counter the disease, technically termed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He continued working at his office until November 2006. After that, he worked from his residence until he was incapacitated. Picard had planned to retire on May 1. At the time of his death in a Lafayette hospital, the BESE board was already seeking a temporary successor.

Picard's chief assistant, Carole Wallin, said that he was "taken from us before he accomplished all of his dreams. . . . He was always dreaming of things to do to improve education."

Wallin recalled that Picard was the principal when Maurice High School was desegregated. Years later, his first act as superintendent was to begin a tour of the state's school districts. The levels of poverty he encountered appalled him, she said. Picard hence decided that perhaps the best way to lift children was to begin teaching them at an early age. That resulted in the LA4 pre-school program.