Lingering Louisiana school board races to be decided in Dec. 6 runoff

November 25, 2014

Thirty-four school board candidates for districts among Louisiana's largest school districts by enrollment who were unable to garner the 50 percent plus one majority in their respective general election races are sending voters back to the polls. Seventeen seats on nine school boards will be determined in the runoff election on December 6, 2014. Of the nine incumbents facing a runoff election, four were the top vote recipients in their general election contests. Just six of the races will see opponents of differing partisan affiliations; six of the seats will see only Democratic competitors and four will see only Republican competitors.

Three seats went to a runoff in three districts. For the Caddo Parish School Board, District 2 incumbent Jasmine R. Green (D) faces Barbara Johnson Simpson (D), District 8 incumbent Bonita Crawford (R) faces Denee Locke (R) and District 11 incumbent Ginger Armstrong (R) faces Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink (R).

Voters will choose between pairs of newcomers for the Calcasieu Parish School Board as Glenda Gay (D) and Edwina Medearis (D) vie for District 3, Teddie Atterbery Jr. (I) and Dean Roberts (R) vie for District 6 and Becky B. Grove (D) and Alvin Dale Smith (R) vie for District 10.

Two districts are holding runoffs for two seats each. For the Jefferson Parish School Board, Rickeem Jackson (D) and Ricky Johnson (D) face each other in the District 2 contest while incumbent Mark Jacobs (R) and Melinda Doucet (R) seek the District 7 seat. District 1 incumbent Roosevelt "Rosey" Thomas (D) and District 9 incumbent Hayes J. Badeaux (D) on the Terrebonne Parish School Board face challengers Joe Thompson (D) and Vicki Bonvillain (R), respectively.

The remaining four districts with runoffs have one seat up for election each. District 1 on the Lafayette Parish School Board will be filled by either "Coach Don" Gagnard (I) and Mary Morrison (D). The race between Robyn Penn Delaney (D) and Jevella Williamson (D) will fill the District 1 seat on the Ascension Parish School Board.

District 12 voters will choose between Albert "Al" Hayes Jr. (D) and Roland Miller (R) for the St. Landry Parish School Board. The District A seat on the Tangipahoa Parish School Board will be decided in the race between Eric Brumfield (D) and Walter Daniels (D).

Spotlight: East Baton Rouge Parish School System

Due to redistricting that shrank the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board from 11 to nine members, District 5 incumbent Evelyn Ware-Jackson (D) faces District 9 incumbent Jerry Arbour (R) to retain her seat. While several current board members ran for different seats during this election, only one lost outright in the general election: Mary Lynch (I), the District 11 incumbent who ran for the new District 1 seat. That seat, instead, will be filled by the runoff between newcomers Jennifer Andrews (D) and Mark Bellue (R). District 8 will also see a runoff between incumbent Connie Bernard (R) and Christopher Bailey (R).