Only two of Livingston Parish’s nine school board seats drew challengers this election cycle. In complete but unofficial returns Tuesday, incumbents Cecil Harris and Jeff Frizell won District 5 and District 3, respectively.
Harris, seeking a third term in District 5, defeated Chris Taylor with 58% of the vote, according to The Advocate. Frizell won a second term in District 3 with 78%, defeating Philana Webb. Harris, a Denham Springs resident, has served as board president for two years after being appointed to the board in 2020.
District 5's First Contested Race in Two Decades
The District 5 matchup stood out even before any votes were counted. The race between Harris and Taylor marked the district's first contested race in 20 years, the newspaper reported ahead of the election. Harris, founder of educational publishing company Pinnacle Education, campaigned on continuing the recent expansions at Denham Springs High School and said he hoped to add tennis courts to the campus. He also said he wants to continue adding classrooms to schools across the district.
Taylor, chief operating officer of local marine services company Shamrock Marine, proposed considering another campus, at least for Denham Springs High School. The Advocate reported that he also called for tighter spending, less extravagant athletic upgrades at the high school and greater transparency for voters.
Teacher Pay Divided District 5 Candidates
The candidates also differed over how to pay for teacher raises. The Advocate reported that Taylor opposed both a proposed one-cent sales tax for raises and funding them from the existing budget. Harris said he remained open to a tax to fund teacher pay increases.
A Separate Vote on a Proposed Tax
The school-board election was separate from a parishwide tax vote. WBRZ reported that a proposed 1% sales tax to raise pay for Livingston Parish school faculty failed at the polls after a March 25 election; its report does not specify the year.
Frizell Wins Big in District 3
Frizell, a Republican and former longtime teacher and administrator in the school system, defeated Webb, a Denham Springs resident who listed no party affiliation. The Advocate reported that Webb campaigned on improving evaluations and expanding support for students with disabilities and other exceptionalities. Frizell said finding a way to give teachers a raise would be a board priority over the next four years.
A Growing District With a Nine-Figure Budget
The Livingston Parish School Board oversees Louisiana's ninth-ranked school district, a system with nearly 24,800 students and more than 3,800 employees. The district's annual budget tops $397 million, according to district data cited by the newspaper. The nine-member board sets policy and spending for the entire system, though this year only the District 3 and District 5 seats drew challengers.
