Erath graduate member of the Lafayette School Board

The Lafayette School Board has gotten a lot of attention lately, and it is mostly amusing press from the media. Sitting on the school board is a man from Vermilion Parish - Kermit Bouillion.
Bouillion is a 1969 Erath High graduate, who now lives in Lafayette. He has been a school board member for the last four years and recently announced he plans to seek re-election in November.
The Erath High graduate admits being on the Lafayette School Board that is getting a lot of negative attention has been challenging.
“It’s depressing to see an article on the local news and then see a blog at the end that says, ‘All 9 board members needs to go.’ ‘Vote all the rascals out,’” said Bouillion. “I wanted to scream out and say, ‘Wait a minute.......some of us work with the Superintendent, we call him, we meet with him, we go to lunch with him, we are cooperating with him, we want to see him succeed. If he succeeds, the children likewise succeed. But the general perception in Lafayette Parish at this time is very negative about the school board members.’”
Bouillion has not forgotten where he was raised and is well aware of how Vermilion Parish always outperforms Lafayette Parish in School Performance scores. He has especially kept an eye on his old school - Erath High School.
“I am always impressed to see how a Vermilion Parish public school outperforms Lafayette Parish on state tests,” he said. “Vermilion had a SPS score of 103.7, while Lafayette has a 97.6 score. I always think, why is that? What is Vermilion Parish doing that we (Lafayette Parish) are not doing? Is it the parents or the teachers that really make a difference? Plus you have to be proud of the fact that Erath High School is scoring through the roof and is one of the highest scoring schools in the entire state. Lafayette High School scores the highest in Lafayette Parish because they are a ‘gifted’ school. But even then, they do not come close to EHS in terms of state testing. I am very proud of what my alma mater has been able to do.”
The election is not until Nov. 4.
“At this time there seems to be a lot of obstructionists on the board. Certain board members are focused on fighting the Superintendent instead of focusing on the needs of the children,” he said. “I truly believe that the voters will express their frustrations with this board at the ballot box in November. Who knows, I may get beat in the next election, but at least I have a record of how I have voted in my first term, and I am very proud of that record. I have not missed a single board meeting in four years.”