Kibbie Pillette new school board member in Abbeville district

Since 1973 there have been only two school board members in District F - Kibbie Pillette and Charles Campbell.
Pillette was on the school board from 1973 until 1995 when he was defeated by Campbell.
Campbell remained the school board member from 1995 until he recently passed away.
Now, Pillette is back sitting in the same chair that he sat in for 22 years.
On Tuesday, the 70-year-old Pillette was sworn in by school board attorney Woody Woodruff after the school board voted 8-0 to select Pillette.
According to Pillette, Campbell asked his old friend (Pillette) if he could take his place after he passes.
Tuesday after the swearing in, Pillette and the seven other board members went behind closed doors in executive session for two hours to speak out Superintendent Jerome Puyau’s yearly evaluation.
“We talked about things we talked about 20 years ago,” Pillette said after the two-hour closed door evaluation.
“Charles was one of my favorite people,” said Pillette. “He asked me to replace him on the board and I agreed.”
Pillette said he has paid attention to his district and what has been happening in education over the last 20 years. But he admits school board issues will be a lot different from what he faced 20 years ago.
“It has changed tremendously,” said Pillette. “Board members are more concerned with policies than they are with day-to-day operations of the schools. I think there is a need for school board members to get more involved with the schools.”
He said his district has a “lot of work to do.”
“We are losing a lot of black kids and we are losing them is at the elementary level,” he added. “I will be trying to improve that.”
School Board Anthony Fontana, when he was first elected 20 years ago, previously served with Pillette.
“He was an excellent board member,” Fontana said.
School Board President Chris Gautreaux said that the Campbell family called him and informed him that it was Campbell’s wishes to have Pillette replace him.
Pillette will collect $800 a month as a school board member. His temporary term is from Tuesday until Oct. 24, 2015 when a special election is held to fill Campbell’s position. Qualifying for the election will be Sept. 8-10.
The winner of that special election will be sworn in immediately. Pillette did not hesitate when asked if he plans to enter the school board race. He said yes.