Voters deciding races for the Ascension Parish School Board on Tuesday reelected the board鈥檚 vice president, elected two newcomers and sent two other races to a runoff.
The runoff elections will take place Dec. 12.
The district is the largest employer in the parish with approximately 3,500 employees, including 2,000 teachers. It enrolls more than 24,000 students in 33 schools and three programs.
For the first time, term limits are forcing a turnover on the board. Of the current 11 members, five could not seek reelection because they reached the maximum three consecutive terms allowed under a measure approved by the parish more than a decade ago.
All six members who were eligible for another term registered to run for reelection. Five of them were reelected unopposed.
District 1
Vera Jones, Democrat, led the four-person race, taking 32% of the votes. She will face Michael Wright, Republican, who earned 28%.
Jones has previously worked in the district鈥檚 department of information technology. Wright currently serves as supervisor for special education in East Baton Rouge Parish schools.
The other two candidates, Democrat Stephen 鈥淕ob鈥� Joseph received 21% of the vote, while Democrat Natalie Sullivan finish with 20%.
District 3
Rochelle Darville, Democrat, earned 66% of the vote against Democrat Torey Bennett. Darville has spent the past 14 years in education.
District 4, Seat A
Incumbent Marty Bourgeois took 65% of the vote against Vicki Auguste, who registered no party. Bourgeois is the board鈥檚 current vice president.
District 5, Seat B
Greg Hillensbeck, Republican, earned 62% of the vote against Breigh Rainey Rhodes, who registered no party.
Hillensbeck is a part-owner and operator of Kelly Pest Control Inc., a family-owned pest and termite control business operating in Ascension Parish and surrounding areas.
District 6, Seat B
Republican Bart Himel barely led the three-person race, taking 39% of the votes. He will face Sandra Denham-Lightfoot, a Republican who earned 38% of the vote.
Himel has worked for Baton Rouge Water Co. for the past 18 years. Denham-Lightfoot has been an educator for nearly 40 years, teaching in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish and private schools. She retired in 2022 after teaching for 26 years at Lake Elementary.
The third candidate, Landon Lambert, who was looking to fill the seat his father held for the past 12 years, earned 23% of the vote. He registered no party.