ST. MARY PARISH — Two people are running for the St. Mary Parish School Board District 7 seat.
Republican Lawrence Guillory and Independent Carla Pellerin are the candidates in the race, which is on the March 29 ballot. Early voting has begun and lasts until March 22. For details on that, click here.
We attempted to interview Guillory about the race but he was not available.
Here is our interview with Pellerin:
What are your thoughts on St.Mary Parish school board still having a desegregation case after nearly 60 years, do you think it’s time for it to be settled?
Absolutely it’s time for it to be settled; I don’t understand why that case has gone on that long. I wish I could say I’ve actually done the research on that case but I think that in the year 2025 this case goes all the way back to the 60s if I'm correct, so yes it is time for it to be settled. It is time for us to turn the page on this lawsuit and put it to rest absolutely.
Do you feel like the St.Mary Parish school system is headed in the right direction?
That’s a loaded question, I can’t say that we’re headed in the wrong direction. Obviously I’m always open to progressive policies that are going to protect the best interest of the students and being able to lead a voice to help the system move forward. Are we headed in the right direction? I think we rank 26 across the state school systems and so there's room for improvement, always.
Piggy backing off of that, the final question, is there an area that you feel like should be a higher priority in the school system?
That’s also a good question, I think the students have to be the number one priority of course, now what particular aspects of student services could be improved? That's a question that I could probably better answer in a few months once I’ve gotten immersed in what's happening with the systems and the policies.
