Three St. George candidates are facing off to represent the southeast corner of East Baton Rouge Parish on the School Board.
The candidates vying for the District 6 seat are Nathan Rust, the Republican incumbent, Tristan Yperman, a Democrat challenger, and Nicole Fitzgerald, a no party affiliated challenger.
Rust, the owner of Prestigious Painting, says the school board has accomplished a lot in the last four years but “that work isn’t done; there’s a lot more to do.'“
Fitzgerald, a former teacher at Westdale Middle, said she has built many programs “that really stand for and show what I bring to the table.”
Yperman, a mother of school-age children, wants to give voters “a sense of hope that we can fix this” with her campaign.
The election is Nov. 3 with early voting ending Oct. 27.
Top priorities
One of Rust’s top priorities is seeing that the school district’s Facilities Master Plan is completed. He said this will help make decisions about where to build schools and how to properly invest in the future.
Another top goal of his is to improve early literacy rates across schools and make sure students are able to read by the third grade.
“Literacy lays the groundwork,” he said.
Fitzgerald emphasized accountability at all levels, from teachers to students, across the school system.
“We need to rebuild public trust,” she said. “I believe good governance is the backbone of quality education.”
She also said she wants to work on creating more family engagement systems, which is something she focused on when she was a teacher.
Yperman believes the “whole system is broken” and said ideas like doing away with standardized testing at early ages and getting rid of school uniforms will improve students’ school environment.
“They are unengaged,” Yperman said. “We can’t model schools after businesses.”
School choice
The city of St. George, which encompasses most of District 6, is in the early stages of a plan to partner with charter operators to expand school choice in the area, with the mayor saying he hopes to open a new charter school in the city by August 2028.
“I think families having more choices is a great thing for students,” Rust said. “We need more high-quality schools — grow the portfolio.”
Fitzgerald believes accountability is important and said many questions need to be asked about these future charter additions.
“There are some charter schools doing well — there are a lot not being held accountable,” she said.
Yperman isn’t a fan of school choice or creating additional charter schools.
“School choice is making things more confusing,” she said.
Cole future
Another issue the school board member will have to address is the future of Superintendent LaMont Cole. Cole was indicted in August on multiple public corruption charges arising from his previous job as an elected member of the Metro Council.
Cole’s four-year contract expires June 30, 2028, giving him 18 months left once the new board takes office in January.
Rust, who has worked with Cole on the School Board, wants the justice system to do its job and Cole to focus on his job.
“It’s really important that we hold all our leaders accountable,” he said. “I think Lamont understands that.”
Fitzgerald stands by the current policy, which allows the school board to vote to suspend Cole, but only for a limited time, and said she's open to discussing policy changes regarding administrative leave.
“There is not much that can be done until there is a conviction,” Fitzgerald said.
Meanwhile, Yperman months ago said Cole should be ousted from the job and still remains firm on that stance.
“He should be removed,” she said. “This is a guy who is supposed to be in charge of our education system.”