C. Arsteal Williams wants to be Concordia Parish’s next school superintendent, and he thinks his background teaching college students and law enforcement officers and tutoring children would be assets to the district.

He is one of three candidates for the position. The others are Interim Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot;&160;Peterman and Monroe, La., Assistant Superintendent Richard O. Miles.

Williams now works as director of training and education for the U.S. Navy’s Support Services Division in New Orleans and as a professor of criminal justice and sociology at Southern University.

He acknowledges that he must learn more about the district he wishes to lead. &uot;I’ve never really visited Concordia Parish,&uot;&160;he said in a Wednesday interview.

But Williams said that, if he is chosen as superintendent, he would jump right in to learn more about what improvements could be made to school facilities, teacher pay and curriculum.

&uot;First, do they have a comfortable place to teach and learn?&uot; Williams asked. &uot;Then consider teacher pay, because the more you pay them, the more quality they give you.&uot;

Williams said he would work to find government grants and solicit businesses for donations to supplement teacher pay.

Next, curriculum must prepare children for the next grade level and compare favorably to what children in the rest of the nation are learning.

He abhors the &uot;status quo&uot; and the &uot;deplorable&uot; status of many school districts, including that of New Orleans, where he lives.

&uot;I have couple of nephews and nieces, and I&160;said if I ever get rich I’ll home school them,&uot;&160;he said.

And he said he does not see his lack of experience in grade-school teaching and administration as an obstacle to his performance or image as superintendent.

&uot;I’m not concerned about how other people look at me,&uot;&160;Williams said. &uot;I&160;think change is good. If you’re well-rounded and willing to step in and learn something new, you’ll do OK.&uot;

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is second in a series about candidates for superintendent in Concordia Parish. Pete Peterman interview will run Sunday.