Vermilion Parish School Board undecided about 8 or 9 districts

The Vermilion Parish School Board is now on the clock.
The board has until June 7 to decide if they want to go to an eight-member school board or a nine-member school board. Heck, there is even talk that there could be a 10-member school board.
For the last three years, the school board has been debating whether it wanted nine school board districts or eight school board districts.
They hired demographer Mike Hefner to create lines for eight and nine districts.
A couple of months ago, Hefner presented the school board with a nine-member district.
The new district would be in the North Vermilion/Maurice area. At a committee meeting on Monday, Hefner presented the new district lines for the eight-board member district.
Hefner has to redraw the district lines because of the new census.
Hefner explained to the board members that each school district has to have 7,162 people in the district. The largest population growth was in the northern part of the parish, with a 33 percent increase.
Hefner had to move district lines to get 7,162 people in each district.
With the new lines for eight districts:
District A, Dr. David Dupuis’s district, would move more into Kaplan. Dupuis would represent all of Gueydan and 3/4 of Kaplan.
District C, Laura LeBeouf’s district, would only have 1/4 of Kaplan and 3/4 of the North Vermilion area.
The new lines did not sit too well with LeBouef, because there is a good chance that Kaplan schools would not have Kaplan representation. After all, the board member in District A could be the Gueydan area.
“Kaplan High would be in my district, but most of the kids who attend Kaplan High would not be in my district,” LeBeouf said after the meeting. “Every school in the parish has representation, but I would not. I would like to see the lines balanced out, so every school would have representation.”
She went on record as saying that she likes a nine-member school board, because it would keep Kaplan with a board member in the city of Kaplan.
A nine-member district would put two board members in the North Vermilion/Maurice area.
But, not everyone was in favor of a nine-member school board. Dr. David Dupuis voiced his concern about the nine-member board, and it has nothing to do with the representation of the voters.
By going to a nine-member board, Dupuis said it gives that ninth person “All the voting power. They will make it a decision for the whole parish.”
School Board member Kibbie Pillette fired off, “I say 10. Let us go 10. I am not going to nine. Let us say 10.”
Superintendent Tommy Byler chimed in and recommended that the school board members begin looking at the nine-member school board and adjust district lines.
Dr. Dupuis was not in favor of nine.
“You are missing the point. You are going to give one person the power to vote,” said Dr. Dupuis.
“I do not get that,” Byler responded.
“You do not get it?” Dr. Dupuis asked. “Four, four, and I decide what is going to happen in Vermilion Parish with one vote.”
Board president Dale Stelly and Pillette agreed with Dr. Dupuis.
However, board members Charlotte Detraz and LeBeouf said they like a nine-member board.
Board member Chris Hebert did not say anything. Board member Jason Roy was absent from the committee meeting.