Louisiana state schools Superintendent Cecil J. Picard is working to rebuild the New Orleans school system while battling Lou Gehrig's disease. Cecil J. Picard walks confidently and purposefully to his seat, using a cane to support his weakening right leg. The widow's peak and his graying hair are signs that he's lived 68 years, and the cane serves notice that he is not as strong as he used to be. Mr. Picard is here for one in a series of public meetings on solving the biggest problem he has taken on in 40-plus years as an educator and politician: rebuilding the storm-ravaged New Orleans public schools. At the same time, he is fighting a personal battle that he almost certainly will not win: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. In his career, he has led two high schools through desegregation. He has pushed to improve teacher quality and hold schools accountable as a state legislator. He has built Louisiana's nationally recognized system of testing and accountability as the state schools chief. Now, he must open 35 schools. That will not be easy in a city where rubble piles are ubiquitous and utility service is still spotty almost 10 months after Hurricane Katrina struck, and where the federal bureaucracy has yet to deliver the money to finance school repairs.