Jefferson Parish Students Press School Board Candidates Ahead of Nov. 3 Election
New Orleans is a city in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Voters in Jefferson Parish, part of the New Orleans metropolitan area, will decide five contested races for the nine-member Jefferson Parish School Board on Nov. 3. Ahead of the election, students with the Student Action Movement held a student-led town hall on Oct. 10, pressing the district on teacher pay, classroom resources and bus service. Victor Romero-Roque, the group's 17-year-old president and a student at Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, said many teachers work second jobs and students lack adequate classroom resources. A July investigation by WDSU found Jefferson Parish recorded 1,862 instances of buses being unavailable in March alone, 728 on the West Bank and 1,134 on the East Bank, and some students missed class when buses never arrived. Chief Operations Officer Patrick Jenkins acknowledged the transportation problems and said the district was working to improve service. Four candidates won seats unopposed when qualifying ended Aug. 7, and 11 candidates are running in the five contested races. Ninth District challenger John Cunningham II, a 20-year teaching veteran, was the only candidate to attend the town hall, joined by Jefferson Federation of Teachers President Sandra Hauer.
Related: America's Electoral System (4): The Midterms: What Is on the Ballot on November 3, 2026
Related: Three Candidates Vie for Claremont City Council District 4 Seat; Urban Planner Among Them
Related: Four Candidates Vie for Two Seats in Coachella Valley Unified's Trustee Area 1
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：从密西西比河上望向新奥尔良市中心天际线。图片来源：MusikAnimal，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: New Orleans skyline from the Mississippi River. Image: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0.
