Lafayette BESE members named president, vice president of Louisiana education board
The two members of the state’s education board representing Lafayette Parish were installed as the board’s president and vice president on Wednesday.
Holly Boffy, a Lafayette Parish School System principal who represents much of Lafayette Parish and Southwest Louisiana on the state’s education board, was sworn as the new president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday.
Preston Castille, who represents much of the Baton Rouge area as well as parts of Acadiana including a part of Lafayette Parish, was installed as the vice president. Ronnie Morris, who represents the eastern part of the Baton Rouge area and parts of South Louisiana stretching to Washington Parish, was named the secretary-treasurer.
“I want to thank the board for your support,” Boffy said. “I’m looking forward to a great year.”
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The board’s leadership was elected during its January meeting by a narrow 6 to 5 vote. All of the board’s outgoing leadership — President James Garvey, Vice President Kira Orange Jones and Secretary Treasurer Sandy Hollaway – all voted against the new slate of officers.
Boffy has been a member of BESE since 2011. She is the principal of the W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center and works as a consultant for education talent systems through EdTalents, a business she founded. She previously worked for the Council of Chief State School Officers to help states with teacher quality initiatives.
Boffy taught middle school for 10 years at Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette and Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge. She was named the State Teacher of the Year in 2010. She earned her National Board Certification in 2006, and has worked as an adjunct instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of West Alabama.
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She has three degrees from LSU, including a bachelor of science, master of education, and education specialist in curriculum and instruction. She holds a doctorate from Walden University.
After she was installed on Wednesday, Boffy said one of her priorities is working to secure $257 million in pay raises for educators. She said addressing the multitude of teaching vacancies across the state will also be a focal point. Right now, there are around 1,200 unfilled teacher positions leaving around 30,000 students without teachers, she said.
She also said the state has made some progress on filling positions, with the number of vacancies down from 2,500 last year.
“That’s remarkable progress,” Boffy said. “At this rate, we can get it to zero before August.”
Castille, a St. Landry Parish native and a former partner at the Taylor Porter Law Firm in Baton Rouge, was elected to BESE in 2019. Castille retired from the partnership in January 2020, but he is still affiliated with the firm.
Castille is also on the international management board for MSI Global Alliance, a network of more than 250 accounting and law firms in more than 100 countries. Before law school, Castille was an economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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He is currently the president of Helix Community Schools, a Louisiana charter school operator in Baton Rouge. He has also been an adjunct professor at the LSU Law Center and currently teaches Education Law & Policy at the Southern University Law Center.
Castille earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from Southern University, where he was student body president and a student member of the Louisiana Board of Regents. He earned his law degree from Tulane University Law School.
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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Lafayette BESE members tapped to lead Louisiana education board
