Nov. 18 election: See who's in the runoff for BESE, the board that leads Louisiana public schools

Posted: Oct 30, 2023 / 10:15 AM CDT

Updated: Nov 15, 2023 / 03:55 PM CST

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Two seats on the school board of Louisiana will be determined in the Nov. 18 election.

Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education decide curriculum and classroom policy, set program budgets and create regulations for early education and K-12 schools, administrators and teachers.

The District 4 BESE seat is a runoff between Stacey Melerine, Republican, and Emma Shepard, Democrat.

The District 7 BESE seat is a runoff between Kevin Berken, Republican, and Erick Knezek, Republican.

The general election will be Nov. 18.

Races determined by Oct. 14 primary

Paul Hollis won the BESE District 1 seat with 71% of the vote in complete but unofficial results over Lauren Jewett, who had 29% of the vote.

In District 5, Lance Harris won the BESE spot with 67% of the vote over “Toby” Brazzel, who had 33% of the vote.

“Ronnie” Morris won the District 6 BESE position over Jodi Rollins. Morris had 69% of the vote, while Rollins had 31% in complete but unofficial results.

Preston Castille remains in the District 8 BESE seat. The incumbent had 70% of the vote, while his opposition, Dolores Cormier-Zenon, had 30%.

Which representatives were already selected?

Sharon Latten Clark, Democrat, won the District 2 seat unopposed after qualifying. Eric J. Jones, Democrat, had initially been qualified to run, but the Secretary of State website now has him listed as Other/Disqualified.

“Sandy” LeBlanc Holloway, Republican, won the District 3 seat unopposed.