First time two women elected on Vermilion Parish School Board

The 2015 Vermilion Parish School Board will have a different look than in the past.
The reason there will be a new look is because there will be two women school board members, which is a first for Vermilion Parish.
Women have served as school board members but never two at the same time.
Sara Bourgeois Duplechain and Laura LeBouef will make history when they are sworn into office in January.
Duplechain beat long-time school board member Carroll “Bubba” LeBlanc, 1,268 votes to 839 votes.
Duplechain, who is married to Kane, is the mother of two teenagers, who attend Erath schools. She is also the daughter of Perry Bourgeois, a justice of the peace in the parish for the last 24 years.
“I thought I would be taking my dad’s position (as justice of the peace),” said Duplechain. “I figured, however, I would be more passionate about being a school board member. I have children in the school system and did not want to sit back and do nothing.”
Duplechain, 36, is also the first female school board member from the Erath area.
LeBeouf beat Dexter Callahan 1,311 votes to 1,141 votes.
LeBeouf is a long-time educator for Vermilion Parish. She spent 26 years as a teacher, assistant principal and was the principal at Kaplan High for the last seven years.
Just recently, she took a disability retirement after being injured at Kaplan High while as principal. She was pushed into a wall by a student, injuring her spine. This year she had surgery to replace an injured disc and is still in pain from the surgery.
The former Abbeville High women’s basketball coach said having two women on the school board is a positive thing.
“The majority of teachers in the parish are women,” said LeBeouf. “We need to have representation on the school board. With Sara winning, you also have a mother who has children in the school system.
“We now have representation of a female, a teacher and a mother on the board. It’s good to have diversity.”
One of the first things LeBeouf will address as a new school board member is repairing the morale of the teachers in the parish.
“We have lost some good, qualified teachers in this parish,” said LeBouef. “I hear concerns from teachers and they are not happy. Morale is down, lower than ever.
“It is easy to blame the state but if you look around, no other teachers are leaving teaching like they are in Vermilion Parish.”
One of the first issues Duplechain will address is the “lack of communication between the school board and the community.”
“The community is unaware of what is going on with the school board,” said Duplechain. “We do not know what is happening.”
Duplechain said the school board needs a 5-, 10- and 20-year plan addressing the building of schools in Vermilion Parish. She is tired of seeing students going to Butler Buildings for classes.
LeBeouf will address the schools in Abbeville and what is being done to make them better.
Eaton Park Elementary and Herod Elementary are two “D” schools, and located in Abbeville. Abbeville High and J.H. Williams Middle School are “C” schools.
“I have great concerns about the Abbeville schools,” LeBeouf said. “I spent 16 years at Abbeville High. We need to come up with a plan to provide resources to help these schools. There is so much turnover at these schools. Something needs to be done.”
Duplechain agrees with LeBeouf about Abbeville schools. Abbeville High and Herod Elementary are in Duplechain’s district. She wants to make those schools better over the next four years.
“I am excited to get started,” said Duplechain. “I’m humbled by the people electing me.”