BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP, FILLS DISTRICT 2 VACANCY
The Livingston Parish School Board, at its Jan. 11 meeting, elected a new board president and vice president and appointed an interim board member to the district 2 board seat.
The board unanimously elected District 9 Board Member Steve Link of Albany as its president. Link is serving in his first term as a school board member. He is a former teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the district. Link holds a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) in Hammond, a master’s degree from Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., and a 30+ Education Certification from SLU.
The board also unanimously elected District 3 Board Member Jeff Frizell of Denham Springs as its Vice President. Frizell is in his first term as a board member. He is a former teacher, coach, school administrator and central office supervisor in the district. Frizell currently works as administrator of the Bond-Wroten Eye Clinic, which has offices in Denham Springs, Hammond, and Amite. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.
Stacy Robinson, a former assistant principal at Live Oak High School, will serve as the board member for District 2, which represents the Live Oak School District. Robinson fills the seat that was vacated by Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, who was elected State Representative for District 64 in the November 2023 general election. Robinson will occupy the seat until an election can be held to fill the seat. Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to call that election for November 5, 2024.
DISTRICT NAMES STUDENT OF THE YEAR WINNERS
Livingston Parish Public Schools has announced those top student winners for the 2023-2024 school year.
The Elementary Student of the Year is Kendall Marie Vaughan, a fifth grader at South Fork Elementary; the Middle School Student of the Year is Hudson Graham, an eighth grader at Walker Junior High School; and the High School Student of the Year is Caszandra Joy Dante, a senior at Walker High School.
The winners were nominated by their schools, and they competed against other Students of the Year from throughout the district. As representatives for Livingston Parish Public Schools, they will compete at the state’s regional competition for the opportunity to become a finalist for the Louisiana Department of Education’s top award.
These students will be formally recognized at the district’s celebration of excellence gala in the spring.
TOP EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED
Livingston Parish Public Schools has announced the winners of the district’s Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year and Staff Worker of the Year awards for the 2023-2024 school year.
The Principal of the Year winners are Elementary Principal of the Year Ginger Bishop, Northside Elementary School; Middle School Principal of the Year David Clark, Walker Junior High; and High School Principal of the Year Beth Jones, Live Oak High School.
North Corbin Junior High Secretary Ashely Guzzardo has been named the district’s 2023-2024 Support Worker of the Year.
Those Teacher of the Year winners are Elementary Teacher of the Year Jessica Edwards, Southside Elementary; Middle School Teacher of the Year Amanda Brian, Denham Springs Junior High; High School Teacher of the Year Anna Harrison, Live Oak High School; and New Teacher of the Year Skyler Champlin, Springfield High School.
The top winners for Livingston Parish Public Schools were selected from a long list of nominees submitted by each school in the district. They will advance to the state’s regional competition in their respective categories to vie for the opportunity to become a finalist for the Louisiana Department of Education’s top award.
The winners were given engraved awards, adorned with a decorative glass apple, as well as banners to display in their schools. They will be officially recognized at a district-wide celebration in the spring.
Cecil Harris, District 5
- Appointed to interim position in January 2020, elected twice without opposition (2020 special election, 2023 primary election);
- Served as LPPS Board President, 2022-2023;
- Former owner and manager of Pinnacle Education, an education publishing company; previously worked for several educational textbook and computer companies;
- Graduate of Denham Springs High School and DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee. He is the only three-sport first-team All-State athlete in the school’s history (basketball, baseball, and track);
- Holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La.;
- Four-year starter for the SLU Varsity Basketball Team;
- He taught and coached in LPPS District for three years before moving to a supervisor role with the Louisiana Department of Education’s Health and Physical Education division;
- Married to Margaret Devall Harris for 51 years;
- Father to three sons, Jeffrey, Jeromy, and Matthew, and eight grandchildren;
- The Harris Family are members of Hebron Baptist Church in Denham Springs.
“It continues to be my goal to provide the best resources possible to educate our children. That is the bottom line of this job.”