September 10, 2024 • 53 mins
In this episode, host Jim Chapman sits down with Taylor Hubert, a candidate for the District 2 school board seat in Livingston Parish. Taylor discusses the upcoming election and his commitment to education, shaped by his background and the massive amount of educators in his family.
Key issues he is looking to address should he be elected include addressing the need of updated school facilities to respond to the population growth, equitable access to technology, and the importance of fair teacher compensation amidst recruitment challenges.
Taylor emphasizes community engagement and collaboration, advocating for innovative funding solutions to support local schools. Tune in to hear more about his vision and plans for education in Livingston Parish. Livingston Parish’s District #2 encompasses all of the Watson, Louisiana area schools.
#livingstonparish #schoolboard #taylorhubert #localleaders #podcast #louisiana #watson #vote
Timestamps
01:55 School Board Dynamics
04:19 Taylor's Community Commitment
08:20 Addressing Growth Concerns
12:32 The Importance of School Boards
17:38 Technology in Education
22:34 Teacher Pay Discussion
26:59 Innovative Funding Ideas
31:16 Engaging with the Community
42:52 Navigating Challenges Ahead
51:00 Closing Thoughts
Key issues he is looking to address should he be elected include addressing the need of updated school facilities to respond to the population growth, equitable access to technology, and the importance of fair teacher compensation amidst recruitment challenges.
Taylor emphasizes community engagement and collaboration, advocating for innovative funding solutions to support local schools. Tune in to hear more about his vision and plans for education in Livingston Parish. Livingston Parish’s District #2 encompasses all of the Watson, Louisiana area schools.
#livingstonparish #schoolboard #taylorhubert #localleaders #podcast #louisiana #watson #vote
Timestamps
01:55 School Board Dynamics
04:19 Taylor's Community Commitment
08:20 Addressing Growth Concerns
12:32 The Importance of School Boards
17:38 Technology in Education
22:34 Teacher Pay Discussion
26:59 Innovative Funding Ideas
31:16 Engaging with the Community
42:52 Navigating Challenges Ahead
51:00 Closing Thoughts
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, this is Lori Johnson with Hancock Whitney Bank, and
you're listening to Local Leaders the podcast. Visit Local leadersthepodcast
dot com for previous episodes or for information on peering
on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hey everyone, and welcome back to Local Leaders of the podcast.
And look on November fifth, we have a ballot. It
has a lot of important elections on it, not only
nationally but here locally. Now one of those names is
here with us today, so I want to welcome him.
And I'm gonna let you introduce yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for having me. Yeah, my
name is Taylor Hubert. I'm not really a lifelong resident
of Watson, but my family moved here when I was
five years old.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well that's pretty much lifelong pretty much unless you're seven
and you look older than.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Seven pretty much.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
So my brother and I are six and a half
years apart. So when my parents had my brother, they
had said we're not going to put We're not going
to put two kids through private school, a central private
Let's uh.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Let's take the trip north.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Let's go to Watson and and you know, I'm a
product Olivis and Paris education, product to Livo High school.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And yeah, I'll see that livea shirt you got on
right now. It's funny, y'all because I got an yellow
jacket in the corner and he keeps looking at it
cross eye when he I'm just getting red Beard sees this,
go Eagles, there you go. Well, you're running for the
district to school boards. And that was Kelly Hennessy s
(01:27):
it was okay, and she is now in the legislature,
So I guess she vacated that seat and someone took
that seat over just temporarily as.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
An interim position. Yes, sir, Miss Stacy Robinson, Yeah she was.
She was an education I want to say, for over
thirty years when she retired. She retired as the assistant
principal position at Livo High School.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I have a lot of respect for for miss Kelly
and Miss Stacy Robinson. I think them both have done
done a wonderful job. Kelly Surfer almost twelve years.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Yeah, she was staple in that she was.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
She was and and she represented her people in her
district and the best way she could. And and Miss
Stacy's really carried on that legacy of I've told everybody
I wish Miss Stacy would run because she's way more
qualified than these. She she knows education, she knows the people,
she knows the she knows the rules a heck of
a lot better than I do.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Yeah, she's not interested in she wants to enjoy a retirement.
I don't blame her.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I don't blame her thirty plus years in public education.
She wants to go spend the time with family and grandkids.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, very good. And now you have announced.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And your you're running like crazy. You are definitely burning
the soles off your shoes, trying to get the word
out on who you are, what you represent, all of
those sort of things. And you are married.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yes I am, I'm and I'm married to an educator. Yes,
my wife's sent her second year at Southside Elementary right
here in Dunham Springs. So I work in this parish,
she works in this parish. We're proud to spend our
money and be a part of livings to parish.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Love that.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
And you got a baby on the one I do do?
Uh Baylor Drew Hubert Uh Oh great nang. We found
found out the gender two week ago Saturday, so her
due dates March first. We're excited.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Uh, life, Life's changing man. Life's life's evolving. I'm a
big family person. So, uh, Drew was Drew was actually
the first name of my brothers, so he was. It's
pretty emotional when when we told him, hey, look her.
You know, boys middle name is gonna be named after you. Yeah,
and that's your first child. It is okay, so got
a boy your first time out.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, that was. That was the same way.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And uh, and you know, there's nothing like parenthood. Now
there's a lot of people listening probably know there's nothing
like it.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Did you do a gender reveal? We did?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
We we we had a I don't know what you
call him, little cannon or something popped the thing and
the blue or pink comes out, and uh, I just
had family. They're very small, very intimate, but it was, uh,
it was.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
It was awesome to see. That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You know, when my kids were born, they didn't have
that yet. So my wife's like, I can't believe we
missed that. On getting to do that, I said, I
don't know. I didn't think of it.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I would have back back back in your age.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I just got told at the hospital and I was like,
all right, that's the time I found out we're having
a girl exactly, we're having twins. What my wife's a
twin actually, so I am very fortunate I'm not having
twins on my first go around.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I'll tell you, well, very good. Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And I know that's exciting stuff. And throughout all of that,
life is just steady moving along. And Taylor decides he's
gonna put his hat in the name and the hat
for the school board Seaton, And I guess my first
question would be why.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Why why do that?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well, I'm young, I'm energetic, and i love my community,
and I've always felt the need to serve. I've a
coach travel baseball for ten years.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Uh so starting back in roughly twenty thirteen twenty fourteen,
started getting involved and uh and leading young men at
that time though that was fourteen and fifteen year olds,
trying to mold them into into you know what high
school would be the preparation in the high school baseball, Yeah,
and trying to make trying to make them into young
men and to expect in the real world. And then
and then got attached to a team, the Louisiana Nationals
(05:04):
out in Springfield. So I was with them for four
seasons and Uh, loved it, enjoyed it. My my father
got real sick, so I took I took a back seat,
and we lost him in May of last year. And
so after that, you know, it was just something that
kept calling to me, you know. I mean I met
with some principles in the Live Oak area and you know,
got their opinion, their honest opinion, and and and they said, look,
(05:27):
we would love to we would love to have you
as a voice, We would love to have you as representation.
And I just want to lead. And I think I
think that's what good leaders do. They bring people together.
They they formulate ideas, formulate opinions, and you know, sometimes
you got to step on toe, sometimes you got to
say the things that some other people are scared to say.
But at the end of the day, Uh, that's what
leaders do. You know, They take charge, They at the
(05:48):
front of the line, and they they give the best
representation they can for their community members.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I couldn't agree with you more. And you mentioned in
their voice and if y'all uh you were the voice
of the live play by play for.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
A little while, I was know we were talking about
that earlier. I I give all the credit in the
world to buy you Sports Network. Man, I that was
I tell everybody, that was the funnest five years of
my life. We were we were at the pinnacle.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
It was Brett Beard, Brett Beard's first year at Live
Oak and twenty fifteen was my first year. Yeah, and
I and I and I left when when when he
left in Denham, I mean when he left to go
to Denham.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
So that was, man.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
We we we saw some some some packed playoff games.
And I mean, I'll flat I'll tell you I witnessed
Live Oak football play in the playoffs the day after Thanksgiving,
which is has only happened one time. And to see
to see thousands of people packed the stands and and
and at one point we had over thirty five hundred listeners.
It was it was insane. It was something truly that
(06:49):
I'll never forget. You know how small it was in time.
It just looking back now that was almost five years,
five six seasons ago, it's like, wow, man, we we
touched a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
We impacted a lot of memories. It really does.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And and look and small smaller areas like Livingston Parish
and you know, it's a hard to miss. Call it
a small town anymore small parish. It has grown so much,
and we'll get into a little of that, but it.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Still has that small feel.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, and you know, Friday nights under the lights uh
is hard to beat no matter.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
What school it is. And I mean, let me ask you.
You held a meeting greet recently.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And one of the best things you can do at
meeting greets, I would imagine from a from your perspective,
is you learn what the people you're going to represent
ultimately are looking for in a rep. What are the
concerns things like that, And you've got a few of those.
I've been following your Facebook page, which incidentally give them
(07:54):
give them a follow on Facebook if you if you
give a chance, and he'll keep you updated.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
But one of the things was.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
With regard to the growth and your district specifically, which
I guess before we go any further district too, is
all of the live area essentially all of Watson Yeah. Okay,
so one of the biggest growing districts in the parish.
Multi purpose buildings or something that are concerned. Let's talk
(08:21):
about that for a minute. Why is that concern and
what can we do about it?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
A couple months ago before I even formally announced to
the public. I met with every principal and their staff.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
At each school. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And you know, you drive by something for so many years,
don't you don't understand or see the problems that they
that they're facing every day.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Take for instance, Livo Elementary. The school was the first
elementary school built, which was over a little bit over
sixty years ago. Yeah, the school population has very much
increased in sixty years. At Livo Elementary, they don't have
enough bathrooms, cafeteria small, it's an older school. So you know,
(09:05):
the phrase I've heard is is yeah, a multipurpose building
and what is that? That's something that that they can
have an awards day ceremony at the end of the year.
They can have a Christmas play. They can welcome just
more than just the mom and dads for that children.
They can welcome grandparents. They can welcome brothers and sisters
and aunts and uncles to see you know, junior or Susie, you.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Know, do X y Z. Whatever's going on at the school.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
And it's and it's sitting down with the principals and
just saying, look, we have any for this, And they
were showing me pictures, I mean of a of a
I believe it was a like a Christmas play that
that the elementary school had had. And just I mean
your shoulder to shoulder, you can't fit another you can't
fit another soul in there. And then incorporate bathrooms into that.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Building, you know. So you know, I think I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Pretty sure Libo Elementary only has two bathrooms, one on
each side of the school. But back then you only
had a very limited number of students, so you didn't
have a need to build a whole bunch of bathrooms.
And you know, you know as well as I do,
you can't take a sixty year old building and just
throw some more plumbing up there.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Yeah, I mean you've got to You've got to do something.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And and and that's a that's a big thing because
it's it's I guess it's the it's in the name multipurpose, right,
you know, bathrooms, picnic tables.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
You can use it for plays, you can use it.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
For X, you know, whatever the case may be, to
house the students or house you know, members of family
for certain activities.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Agreed And I'll.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Tell you this, you know, and this was has been
a couple of years ago, but it reminds me of
the importance of the school board every time I think
about it. Twenty sixteen, we had obviously a major flood,
especially here in the Denham Springs area, where everything went
under feet of water. I had three kids that were
(10:54):
all in school. One was starting at Dinhim Springs High School.
The other two were supposed to start right up the
road at Southside Junior High and south Side Junior High
went completely underwater. Was you know, ended up being demolished
and rebuilt during that flood, and it was, you know,
(11:17):
it was horrible for so many of us around here.
The consideration of people with kids. I remember distinctly thinking,
how the kid's going to go to school?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Like that clicked after about four days, how are the
kids going to go?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I cannot tell you how proud I was we had.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
A school board that stepped up.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Sure they did a bang up job, for sure, And
that's a lot of pressure you've now got. I think
most of the schools in the parish were flooded. I
mean it was a mess.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
It was unbelief.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
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(12:33):
these positions, these boards that people get voted into, if
you know, people don't put enough thought into the importance
of who you're putting in that position.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Is it someone that can handle pressure? Sure?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Is it someone that has their heart in the right place.
Is someone that sees things? You know, not everybody's gonna
agree on everything. Unfortunately, I'd be great if everybody agree
with me, But I never find that.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
If you want to make everybody happy, go sell ice.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
From that aspect, That's what I think about when I
think about voting for candidates for school board is if
it floods tomorrow. Is that guy going to be able
to come up with a plane and handle it?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
One thing?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And I I'll come out and say, you've impressed me
a lot with your thought process. You think outside the box,
which I look for in all leaders, because not everything
is cookie cutter.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
As a matter of fact, most of the time it's not.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It's it never turns out how you think it's going
to turn out on paper, and you have to see
all sides. Let me ask you another thing. Another concern
that was brought up was in reference to technology.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
So Levis to Paris is a one to one parish,
and certain schools get certain federal funding for technology, and
most of the live of schools don't. So the problem
I hear from Principles and their staff is, hey, look,
you know we we're one to one.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
So each kid and.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I don't think kindergarten has thrown into this us, but
I think it may start in first grade. You know,
each kid is sent home with their own his or
her laptop or tablet whatever it is. And they're not
expensive tablets. I mean, let's just say the max value
of it's five hundred dollars. Well, how long do you
think a five hundred dollars piece of equipment would last
you in the podcast industry, right, it's not long much
(14:20):
less of a much less of an elementary school kid
taking care of it, you know, one hundred and two
eighths out of the school year.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Probably not, probably not, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So, so it's ways to try to get creative, to
to get some funding or get monies that are freed
up or allowed, and whether that's through a federal grant
or whatever. Just just let's put our heads together. Let's
see what's available out there to to get children the
access to technology and new technology. Let's just say every
three to four years, you know, let them let them
(14:50):
follow for instance, let it follow them from their freshmen
to their to their senior year, or or or let
it follow them from first to fourth grade and then
you know onward and omar like that. So you know,
what can we do to to to limit the life
term I guess of that of that specific device. I mean,
they're only gonna last so long. Some of them break.
(15:11):
Now they've got band aids, they've got duct tape on them.
So what can we do? What can I do as
a school board member to say, let's let's let's look
outside the box, like you said, and let's see what's
out there available funds wise to say whether we can
get laptops, laptop carts, charging carts, whatever it may need,
so these students can have the best tools capable year
(15:34):
and a year out to succeed and and and mold
themselves for the next step in life.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's hugely important. And I actually served on a committee
and I'll give you a good example of that, and
it was called the Link Up Livingston Committee, and our
whole goal was we were trying to get internet for
underserved parts of the parish. There were grants out there
called gumbo grants, and I think they have a second
(16:01):
aspect to that now. But these gumbo grants were a competition.
It wasn't every parish gets this amount of money. You
had to compete for funding. One thing that we learned
and another thing that the school board here I think
in Livingston Paris did a great job with because nobody
saw it coming was COVID. But one thing we learned
(16:24):
in COVID is that if these kids are home, there's
a lot of issues with like internet access. You know,
it's hard to get online when you have good and
you're in the middle of Denim Springs. You have good
internet access and you're trying to get online to these.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Portals to have school.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Much less if you were in the middle of nowhere
and there's no service. And some of these kids, sadly,
there was a lot of aspects of this pariship were underserved.
We were blessed we were able to secure millions of
dollars in funding for some underserved parts of this parish.
But those are things from a school board perspective that
(17:06):
y'all may never see coming until it hits. Nobody saw COVID.
I mean, you know, nobody saw it coming, and then
it was two weeks to slow the curve or whatever
it was, and that became forever and ever. Nobody saw
that coming. And I think our school board did a
pretty good job of handling that. Yeah, And that those
(17:28):
are things. That's the importance of this particular position, this
particular vote, is those are the people you put in place.
Those are the ones that are going to handle on
children and when they're faced with things like this. So
another thing pay raises.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
It's the elephant everybody ever wants to talk about. They
don't because it's hard to find a solution. Right, it is,
it is?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
And I mean, what do we you know, I guess,
I guess in this day and age in twenty twenty four.
You know, my wife's in education, my mother in law's
thirty one one years as a guidance counselor, and my
sister in law as a guidance counselor in this parish. Really,
my wife's twin sister is a teacher up in North Carolina. Yeah, educate,
education all over, educations all around our family, you know.
(18:14):
And the question I have, like to my wife, and
this is no discredit. You know, the morale is low.
Uh and and and it is becoming harder and harder
to not just be a teacher, but to be in
anything in the public education system. And and and why
is that? Well, you have zero support from the parent. Nowadays,
parents don't want a parent. And and I know I'm
(18:35):
somebody that's not quite the parent yet, but I mean
my generation, in your generation, if you acted up, oh.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yeah, you paid for it.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
My mom came to the school, I got whipped, the
principal whip me, and then my dad handled me when
he got off from work.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So I mean, you don't you know, if the.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Teacher and my wife goes through this, you know, something
goes wrong. You've got to send a message. And then
the teachers just asking question after question to well, you
know what, what what about this?
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Well, what are you doing with this?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
You know, at the end of the day, little juniors,
he's acting up, it's causing a disruption in the class.
He I'm I'm I'm just a wearing you of the issue,
and and and and it's becoming harder for teachers to
do their job. I thought the Department of Education at
the state level did a really good job of the
the let Teachers Teach movement that they that they did
(19:25):
pass through Bessie cutting down on the Teachers Bill of Rights,
letting letting students that that are habitually disrupting a classroom,
let the teachers handle that, move them out, involve the
involved the admin at that point, because at that at
that point, you're affecting Let's just say you've got twenty
(19:47):
seven kids in the classroom, you're your your your best
interest is the other twenty six kids. This this kid's
a problem child that we're affecting the learning and the
ability to learn of the other twenty six children, and so,
you know, I thought the let Teachers Teach movement was
a great thing. And it also cut down on the
repetitive state trainings at the end of the year, so
you're taking the same training over and over again. It
(20:10):
cut down and consolidated to say, look, we're going to
do this as a one off training or or we're
revisited every like three or four years, whatever the language said.
So so the let Teachers Teach initiative was it was
a great thing in my opinion, for teachers in the
state of Louisiana, because it teachers need to go back
to just teaching right. We're we're we're getting whether it's
(20:31):
federal mandates, whether it's state mandates, or whether it's school mandates.
It's it's paperwork, it's stress, it's it's just we need
to go back to the old days and just let
them teach. And and and the parents need a parent
at the end of the day. I think if if
if we can get some help at home and get
some home support and in Junior and Tommy and Susie
(20:52):
can act right every the morale is going to increase
because the job is going to get easier. You know,
there's no such thing as a perfect job. If there was,
there'd be a million, there'ld be a million people in
line for that job, you know. But I think if
we can do some things collaboratively all together, and let's
just say it all kind of works itself out, and
this new initiative ends up being good for the teachers
(21:14):
Bill of rights per se. You know, hopefully teachers can
become a little a little less stressed, you know, a little,
a little more into their to the realm of norm
of of just doing what they're what they were hired
to do in the beginning.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I would agree.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
And you know, one of the ways, uh Taylor, with
regard to raises in particular, if you look around or
surrounding parishes, uh, and don't fool yourself. These teachers do
the same thing when they're looking at jobs and they've
got options, especially good teachers, look experienced, been in in
(21:48):
a while, great track record. Other parishes figure that out
and if they're coming looking for a job, money matters.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Money matters now for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Will always say that you can get paid a million
dollars a year, and if you don't have passion for
what you're doing, it's not going to make a difference.
But if you have passion for what you're doing, and
you know you have someone offering you a substantial amount
of money more to move, it's harder to keep your
(22:21):
good teachers. And that's common sense for everybody. So any
school board would sit down and say, Yep, you're right.
Everybody knows that we need to pay our teachers more.
The question is how we don't have any money or
I've always been a fan of cutting, cutting where things
need to be cut. If there's some fat somewhere that
(22:43):
you can cut off, maybe you're a little heavy in
one area and you can shift some money around.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I don't know. I don't have the.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Books, but I've always been someone that that looks into, Okay,
what's our bidding process?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Like are we.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Bidding out jobs or we just kind of going with
the same people we've always got on with. Can we
save some money maybe with this paint person rather than
that paint manufacturer.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
You when we sat down initially and discussed all this,
one thing I liked is that you're like, Yeah, we
need to get out of the box.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
We need to We're going to have to figure out
a way we're going to have to.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
So, I mean Livingston is out out of the out
of the six surrounding and Livingston's included in this. Out
of the six surrounding school districts, Livingston is dead last.
So so you go Ascension, East, Baton, Rouge, Zachary, Central,
Livingston and Tangibahoa. Wow, Livingston ranks last and pay.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Start starting to that.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
So everybody is leaving us in regards to recruitment and retention.
And you know what can we do to recruit people
in Livingston Parish out of college? Well you got to
pay them. Yeah, you know, why would they come to
Livingston when they can go to Ascension? Why would they
(23:57):
come to Livingston when they can go to a go
to Central or Tangibaho. You know, you've got to pay
them and you've got to be competitive in that. And
then how do you on the flip side of that,
how do you retain a ten plus year veteran teacher.
You got to pay them, you know. So if they're
if our pay scale is eight thousand dollars short of
(24:18):
what Ascensions in Central is, and it is, why would
they stay here? And I think it's evident when you
had one hundred and fifty teachers leave the parish. Not
taking mind some of them did retire, so it's not
all one hundred and fifty just leaving in bus loads.
But you had a turnover rate of one hundred and
fifty teachers this past summer. You have teachers that I
(24:39):
know for a fact, my son, just my daughter, My
son had just graduated. I'm not tied to living to
Paris no more. I'm going to Ascension to make twelve thousand,
five hundred more years. That's the exact conversation. Look, I
was I stayed here and lives to Paris because my
children went to the school. You know, I got to
bring them to work every day, I got to bring
them home after school. We're not tied to that anymore.
(25:01):
There's no more strings attached for me to stay here.
So I can now go make more money from my family.
And at the end of the day, you can't blame them.
I mean, at the end of the day, you're gonna
go take more money. I can't look at you and say, well,
you're you're you're morally wrong for that.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
You're not.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
I mean, why and why would you blame them? You know,
these are these are these are these are civil surface workers?
You know, these are our These are our backbone of
our of our United States economy. I mean it starts
in the classroom, in kindergarten, in first grade.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And our people.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I mean, if they are education, it's it's I have
always tried distress the importance of if you want to
make a difference in in your community, Uh, it starts
with the people you're raising. Yeah, and the tools that
you're giving the people that are teaching these people. Nothing
(25:55):
in life is as important as education from KA twelve
in my opinion, because that's when they're reared. You know
what I mean, show me a man at ten. I'll
show you a man at forty five. Between those ages
they're reared. That's why elementary schools teachers, for example, to me,
have the most important job of all because by the
(26:17):
time they hit middle school, most of them have developed
a personality and work habits and things like that. Now
that can change over time with the right teachers and
education people in place, But you've got to take care
of these people. And there are some teachers here. I
know a lot of teachers, and there are teachers here
in this parish that absolutely love what they do, and
(26:40):
they could probably make what they made forever and they
wouldn't leave this parish because they have a heart for
this parish.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
But it's the.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
New teachers, the new people coming out of college with
an education degree that you're trying to attract because all
those teachers are getting up there in age, they're going
to be retiring and and uh, and it all starts
with thinking outside the box. I know one of the
things that was kicked around was a impact fee on
construction uh for incoming housing UH and that impact fee
(27:12):
would go towards teacher raises. And I thought that was
pretty well thought out.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I heard the council council say that. I thought it
was a wonderful idea. I think it's unfortunate previous councils
years and years ago didn't And yeah, and initialize that.
I'm pretty sure the city of them Springs does that
already with their city council. Yeah, I think it's wonderful.
I mean, you're talking about an impact fee that goes
to the school system, that goes to gravity and drainage
that goes to the sewer district. You know, what can
(27:39):
you take away from that? You know, and at the
end of the day, you you these developers are coming in.
They don't care about Leviston Parish. You know, they're here
to They're here to build a home and get out,
you know. So I mean, you know, if they want
to build a they want to build a subdivision, you know.
And I said, whatever that size would be, you know,
in the subdivision you know what state their money?
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Yeah, well, and they are.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
They're impacting everything from drainage to schools. You're putting stress
on these schools. And no good school administrator is going
to come out and say, hey, we can't handle these kids.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
There's too many kids.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
They're not going to do that, in fact, but you know,
use a little common sense there. If you go from
a thousand kids to fourteen hundred kids with the same
amount of teachers, there's some pressure. There's definitely some pressure there.
And so we absolutely have to look it away to
you know, find some money to pay our teachers and
(28:35):
some of the other things like these multi purpose buildings
that you brought up. And I think that's a good
way to do it. I think it needs to be
looked into. And I'm gonna I'm gonna put a feather
in your cap right now, because one thing that I
really like that you're doing is that you're going out
to all the elected official kind of introducing yourself, telling
(28:57):
them what you know, your thought process is on how
things can be improved, and uh so you're taking the initiative. Yeah,
and you have to have a good relationship with the
council in certain aspects because the council is the one
who is going to approve that impact fee. Absolutely, so
(29:17):
you have to have a a at least a communicative
relationship with them. And you're doing a great job going
around to, you know, just about every elected official and saying, hey,
I'm here to help.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Look, I've met I've met with current board members on
the board. I've met with every principal and almost every
assistant principal in the Live Oak schools. I've met with
I've met with our previous superintendent and now our current superintendent.
I mean, I've met with the assessor.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
I've met with the sheriff.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
I want people to know who I am. I want
to I want people to know what I stand for
and what I believe in. But on the flip side
of that, i've met with I've walked neighborhoods. I've knocked
on doors. I've had a meet and greet at Cassa Maria,
I've had a meet and greet in plain View Ridge.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
I want I want the normal.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Citizen, whether they're whether they're an employee of Livingston Parish
Public schools or whether they're just a taxpayer of Livingston
Parish and their children go to school here. I want
people to know who I am, what I believe in,
and what I stand for. And it's trying to display
that message out very quickly. I mean, it's we're already
in September past Labor Day and there's an election on
(30:22):
November fifth. You know, it's here quick, you know. So,
I mean it's reaching as many people as I can
to share my message. And at the end of the day,
if you're not doing this for the betterment of the kids,
why are you doing this?
Speaker 4 (30:37):
You know?
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Yeah, the ideas I have they're probably not always the
best ideas, but I believe in surrounding myself with people
that are smarter than me and leaning on others also
in their opinions and their advice, because you at the
end of the day, I'm running because I want to
represent Livingston Parish Public Schools and the children and it's
employees in the best shape possible.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
I want to give them.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
The keys to succeed, to have success as a student
and as an employee. And I mean we're talking from
the teacher all the way down to the bus driver.
It starts with the bus drivers in the morning. They're
the first ones to see the kids. And without the
bus drivers and kids don't get to school.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
You know. So it takes an entire and it takes
an entire team.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
And yeah, pay raises are an issue, and I mean, look,
I'm tired of talking about them.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
We're ready to I'm ready to fight it. You're ready
to fight about that because.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
It has to happen. And I mean, at the end
of the day, you know, we talked about it. We've
got to retain and we've got to recruit. So how
do we do that. Well, I mean, look, we can
incentivize all we want, but pat on the backs, little
gift certificates to hear and there they don't pay nobody's
mortgage and they don't pay for football cleats or dance shoes.
It has to happen sooner than later. We have to
(31:43):
do something and look, I've said from the beginning, if
education starts to fall, your property value starts to fall,
you go right around East Baton Rouge Parish. I mean,
they're you just nailed it.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Let that sink in, folks, even if because there's some
people that they may sit around, they may say, I
don't have kids in school anymore. I don't really have
any skin in that game. You know, Oh it matters,
you just nailed it. Well, it affects everybody.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Every everything the one sent sales tax did did fail
and it and and look, people are burdened by taxes.
But I'm I'm a tax paying citizen. Also, I live
in Livingston, Paris. I'm burden by taxes. We are Nobody
wants to pay more taxes. But at the end of
the day, we have to get creative. We have to
think outside the box and we have to do something.
And if we do nothing and then we just sit around,
(32:29):
we keep talking about it, we keep passing around the
paton and just saying, well, look, you know what about this?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
What about this? Morale is still low.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I've met with these people, I've met with with our
employees there, we're not in a good spot. We have
great leadership now and I believe in mister Jody Purvis.
But but we have a lot more work that needs
to be done. And at the end of the day,
it's it's it's sitting up there on the podium and
talking about the things nobody wants to talk about. Nobody
wants to talk about the pay raise because it's a
(32:56):
bad subject to talk about. And the tax did fail,
and I'm and I'm sorry the tax failed. But at
the end of the day, we need to go look
at ourselves in the mirror and say, okay, well what
can we do. You know, the independent audit, we did
do an independent audit, and we did do a lean
frog spending assessment. The independent audit showed that, look, you know,
we're going to be short. We need twenty four million
dollars reoccurring yearly. You know, at the end of the day,
(33:18):
you know, the school board has their militic meeting on Thursday.
I think what people don't understand is the little bit
of revenue they're going to get from that militic, which
isn't much. I think it's like three point five million
more dollars. The cost of fuel this year alone is
from twenty twenty one is insane. The school, the parish
was spending six hundred and something thousand in fuel just
(33:40):
three years ago. It's over one point two million this year.
Speaker 4 (33:43):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
So I mean and just take just just take that,
take that chunk and then we lose COVID esser money
at the end of the year or I'm sorry, we
lost that for this school year, so that those eser funds,
that COVID money, it's gone.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
It's gone. And you know as well well.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
As I do, at the price of groceries, the price
of this, the price of that.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Look everything, car insurance.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
I was fixing the saying, and homeowners insurances. My home
is built in two thousand and eight. I mean I
have been through. I bought my home in twenty twenty.
I'm on my fifth homeowners insurance company. Yeah, I can't
get I can't get a price now under thirty four
hundred dollars. And I can't get a new roof either,
you know. So it's either me go finance or pay
cash for a roof and I can get back down
to twelve hundred dollars a year. But it's it's everything,
(34:29):
and there's some things that are that us the people
in our local government. We don't have any control over
you know, where does car insurance easeman and where does
homeowners insurance come in at with? In my opinion, that
comes from our state level. You know, we have to
incentivize insurance companies to come to business in Louisiana again,
you know, and I don't think I don't have to
and I don't think we need to be in the
(34:49):
back pocket of big lawyers. Yeah, you drive around Louisiana
and you're not from here, you would think attorneys are
the governor.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
You know, they got billboards everywhere. That's true.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
But you know why is our car insurance so high? Well,
so many people are uninsured and and they can sue,
you can get the offender bender and things. So you
for half a million dollars a year and you never
went to the doctor. Yeah, you know, so I mean
that there's what Why is our homeowners insurance so high?
Because the state of Louisiana made it so difficult to
write policies and if you made one little mistake, they
would penalize you and they would regulate you. And then
(35:20):
taking mind, we also had what was it, three hurricanes
in a calendar year, of full twelve months, you know, yeah,
one and one and I guess two in Lake Charles
and then Hurricane Ida. So yeah, that didn't help either.
But I mean, we're we're affected on every end of
the spectrum right now. You know, there is a lot
of stake, there's a lot of at stake on our
federal election on November fifth, and I and look, I
(35:42):
hope and only I can hope and pray that our
that our state government can hear the issues that the
that the normal middle class working person has said and said,
Look I am I am struggling. You know, I've got
to get some easement on on on insurance wise. I mean,
I've I've done business with the same insurance company ever
since I was an adult, when I always had American National.
(36:06):
American National quit writing policies in the state of Louisiana.
So them, as the insurance company I was with, they
sent my home. Out of all the people they deal with,
which I don't remember the number, she told me, only
seven companies came back to underwriting to say, look, we'll
cover his home. Wow, it's an epidemic, and look my
roof is not old. Yeah, it's not like I've got
(36:29):
a hole in the middle of my roof. I mean,
it's just the home was built, No.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
Eight.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
The roof is two thousand and eight. And insurance companies
look at that nowadays and go, look, we're still getting
regulated the crap out of in Louisiana. And you know,
who knows a Category five might come around there tomorrow.
We're not going to cover that thing. And if we do,
he's gonna pay for it. Right, thirty six hundred dollars
a years, a lot of money for a home of
my size. It's a very modest, you know, starter family
(36:56):
type home.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Yeah, no, I agree, And so that create has.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
It and seen and you mentioned it that you know
this this uh raise for the teachers.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
Was on the ballot. It was voted down.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
I think that that you know, from a and this
is a citizen speaking, but I think from my perspective,
it could have been promoted a little better. I don't
think a lot of people understood it. And I think
that when you want to get anything passed, you have
to almost go overboard on education of it and what
(37:31):
it is and why we're asking for it and who's
it benefiting. Because I don't believe the vast majority of
our citizens here in Livingston Paris do not want to
pay our teachers.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
I just refuse to believe that.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
And I would almost bet anybody any amount of money
that I think that it came down to.
Speaker 4 (37:50):
The promotion of it and making sure.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
I think one thing that's important to the citizens is
that they know it's going where we're being told it's
going for sure.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And so you know, look, I think unfortunately social media
plays such a large role in everything we do nowadays. Yes,
and it's a double edged sword. So I you know
that the tax was voted on. I believe in March
of twenty three, I went to two meetings. I went
to one at live Oak and I went to one
in Denham. Between both of the meetings, I was probably
(38:22):
one of between fifty and sixty people there. Yeah, it
was a public meeting. Nobody nobody wants to be educated,
but they will believe whatever they see on social media.
And it's unfortunate. You know, I talked to the mother
last week. You know, she she wants to educate her children,
they're thirteen and eleven. She she wants to educate them
as to what's going on in their and their and
(38:43):
their local government. What's going on in their the federal government?
Who why we're going to vote for this person? But
ask why why are we going to vote for this person?
I said, props to you. Not everybody does. Nobody does
that anymore. You know, nobody wants to be educated. But
if somebody said, I can put on Facebook tonight the
grass said denim springs is is going to turn purple
on thirsty, Somebody's gonna believe it. Well it's on he
(39:06):
said it, it must be true, you know. So so
there was some things out there that you know, there
was some there was some half true, half truths to it.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
I think that there was a lot of there was
a lot of intake about hey, look, you know, if
we buy a vehicle in Livingston Paris, the one percent
is going to really really affect us on that end. Well, look,
there's in my and I think there's four main manufactured
dealerships and Livingston Paris. They're all on tube and denim.
So you got Kia, Nissan, Dodge, and Jeep. Okay, so
(39:37):
let's just say you buy a sixty thousand dollars vehicle
and at one percent of that that a FI detacks.
That's six hundred dollars. Let's just say the life of
your loan is.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
Let's just say four months.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Let's just say the life of your loan is sixty months.
It's ten dollars a month, you know, and it and
it didn't affect grocery and obviously we weren't taxed on gas.
I mean, yeah, look, I do I think the tax
had some good things to it. I do, I believe that.
But at the end of the day, it didn't pass,
(40:13):
and we have to do something, you know, and I
keep I keep going to that. You know, East bat
Rooge has the same one percent of the f ID tax. Yeah,
Tangibahoa has a half cent. And Ascension was smart they
put it in their property taxes, right and I mean
I was down on Highway thirty. I travel for work
around the Louisiana area driving down Highway thirty. They were
(40:36):
smart to put it in the property taxes because they
have the industry. Oh yeah, you know, they're going to
collect way more revenue on that one percent in the
property than they ever would in the sales taxes, no doubt.
I mean, I can take I can name you five
chemical plants right off the bat and we haven't even
gotten until unite at Rentals and Granger and you know,
I mean just Cubellus, I mean since so, yeah, Ascension
has the industry where we don't people support our education system.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
I don't want people to think that they don't. It's
just we're burdened by things right now. We have to
figure something out. We have to look at the numbers.
And I think the independent audit showed us that that hey, look,
you know, there's you know, unless we cut some serious,
serious fat, there's not twenty four million dollars there reoccurring yearly,
and a raise is eminent. I mean, we have to
(41:23):
we have to give them something. We have to show
that that hey, look we can we can do this
because we need to be back number one.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
And and look, you know it's not even like a
raise as much as it is with the inflation. They're
really at a loss. They're really making less money than
they did two years again.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
And you are, yeah, maybe our dollar doesn't go as
far as what it did in t twenty twenty nineteen.
I mean, we're all we're all impacted by this. Yeah,
you know, I think that that's why I said it earlier.
I think there's a lot at stake at the federal
side in November. You know, I mean, we're we're we're
we're hurting. People are hurting, you know, I mean, we're
not There's not many one percenters floating around the Saint
Malibu in California. You know this, Saint We're we're the
(42:06):
We're the backbone of the United States economy. We're middle
class people. Get up every day, we go to work,
we put our boots on, and and you know, we're
tired in the afternoons. When we come home, we cook supper,
we play with our kids, we love on our wives,
and you know, we do the same thing five six
days a week.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
We were we are middle class people.
Speaker 4 (42:23):
You know, that's right. I agree, and I have no doubt.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
That I got a really big feeling that that's probably
top on your agenda of things to look at and
and solve and work with people on, because you know,
you can't do it alone. You've got to work with others.
And like you said, uh, you know, if you have
the smartest person in the room, you're probably in the
wrong room. Yeah, So sure, you're open to ideas and
(42:50):
and uh and things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
And that's what I like. You got to get creative, Jim. Look,
we're hired. The parish is hiring people right now. We
wouldn't have hired ten years ago. Yeah, you got to
throw a warm body in the classroom. And at the
end of the day, do you want a warm body
teaching your child?
Speaker 4 (43:04):
You know?
Speaker 3 (43:04):
I mean, look, we twenty years ago there was forty
job openings and that's probably high for twenty years ago. Yeah,
there was four hundred people applying. Yeah, you got two
hundred job openings. Now you got twenty people applying.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
We need to get back to that.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
So where do you find the mix? And the mix
is you got to recruit and you got to retain.
And how do you do both. Well, you got to
pay them, yep, you can give them good insurance, which
they have, but you got to recruit them and you
got to retain them. And at the end of the day,
unless you're one heck of a salesman, money talks.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
Yeah, you know that's right.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Let's talk about something that recently occurred in the school system,
and that is cell phones. So, man, when I went
to school, cell phones, I'm not that old y'all.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
But because they had cell phones, they just zipped up
in a bag and they were like a million dollars.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
But nowadays, apparently that's something you can bring to school
and having your booksack and look to me personally, citizen
here speaking, I think it's a distraction. I don't think that. Look,
there are plenty of people that made it through high
school and middle school and elementary school when cell phones
(44:17):
never existed. I promise y'all out there that are just
now to the age that your kids are getting into school,
you don't have to have those. And the legislature had
figured that out, and they figured out this may be
a distraction that's taken away from education, so we're not
going to have them, and that there's a new law
(44:39):
in the books now.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I support I supported it, and I do agree. I
think it's a huge distraction. I think when you look
at most night through twelfth graders probably got to give
them a xenax for the first week of school because
they were so so true they didn't know what to do. Yeah,
I mean I talked to some of the principals. They
are like it, they're having like withdraws, and it looked
it's unfortunate, right, but it's the generation we live in.
(45:02):
Everybody's glued to Facebook, everybody's glued to t to TikTok, Twitter,
social media.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
I mean it love us, you know, parents, no exception.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
Right, I've got a snapchat, a couple of emails of
Facebook notification, and four text messages already and we've only
been on the air for less.
Speaker 4 (45:18):
Than an hour. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
And we live and die by these cell phones.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Yes we do.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
And uh, and that's something that I think has.
Speaker 4 (45:27):
Created a distraction.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
And I'm not a grandpa here saying back in my
day and all that.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Sort of stuff.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
Although I feel like not that old old, but I
can I know that had I had a cell phone
when I was in high school, that's what I would
have been on.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
I wouldn't have been learning about, uh, you know, the
Civil War, things like like that. I would have been
learning about you know, snapchat and stuff. So there's a
place for it, and uh. And I just personally felt
like school was was not somewhare that that need to be.
Speaker 4 (46:01):
I don't think it compromises the safety.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
I know some parents, well what if something happens, I
can't get, you know, call school like like we did
in the old days, and the principal of page gym
to the office.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
And yeh, that's how we have a wonderful an alert
system as well. So I mean, let's just say, let's
just say something happened at the school our parents has
a wonderful I see national that's not the word, but
we have a wonderful alert system that reaches parents in
a snap of a finger.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Why because of technology, because of the Apple and Android
market that has dominated our environment for the last fifteen years,
you know. So, I mean, look, it was a distraction.
I think the legislature looked at it and said, look,
technology is evolving. We need to evolve. And at the
end of the day, there's a thing called chat GPT.
Speaker 4 (46:50):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
You know, how do we know that these students aren't
using this to cheat on this algebra test, this physics test,
this geometry, this write this English paper.
Speaker 4 (47:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
So we had to the legislature really had to look
at that and say, we might, we might make some
some feelings hurt. But like I said, about five minutes ten,
you won't make everybody happy. Go sell ice cream.
Speaker 4 (47:12):
That's it. That's it. It's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
You just can't make everybody happy. So you're exactly right.
Last thing before we get out of here, I want
to get you know, we were talking earlier about thinking
outside the box.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
I watched the most.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Recent school board meeting and in that meeting, a lieutenant
from the Denham Springs PDE spoke and he spoke about
a occupancy tax that the City of Denham Springs is
looking to place on hotels in the city, and that
will pay for pay for your police officers and fire.
(47:50):
They're going to kind of like split it or something,
if I understand it correctly. I thought it was a
great idea, and I'm like, why have they not be
doing that? But you know it's it's like every great idea,
You're like, why didn't I think of that twenty years ago?
Speaker 4 (48:04):
Exactly?
Speaker 2 (48:05):
So you know that that is an example of what
thinking outside the box will give you. You have a
passion for it, you can see when we talk, and
that's what I look for in any candidate for any
job that's serving the public. So I think that that
is an out of the box way of thinking to
(48:27):
find money. And I hope that y'all can come up
with some sort of idea there, because I think that
it all starts. It all starts with your teachers. See,
I believe that.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
You're correct, and people also, and this speaks to the
people inside the city of them Springs. They need to
be educated on it. This is not a text that's
going to affect them now unless their wife kicks them out.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
Or there our air conditioner breaks the Look this this effects.
Take my company.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
We put people up in at the Comforting right there
off of off of South Range by Dallons, Uh, probably
four or five times a year. You know that our
company pays for so when we have outsiders come in,
we want to keep some of that money. And I'm
all for building another hotel. I mean, I mean, if
you're running out of room and the three hotels you got,
(49:20):
build another one. Get the money out of it, you know.
So at the end of the day, people need to
know that if you live in them, it doesn't it
doesn't affect your bottom dollar. This is for outsiders coming
in to support your first responders, the ones that respond
the fire, the police that you know, and it goes
to recruitment and retention, you know.
Speaker 4 (49:41):
How do you do it? And it's and it's pay
and we got to pay them.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
You know, they're they're worth it. Without them, we we're
just running around the streets.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
And like the movie.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
Out of the Purge, you know, we got to have
our first responders, you know, just like we've got to
have our teacher.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (50:00):
So, I mean, at the end of the day, we
we People just need to understand that that is not a.
Speaker 4 (50:05):
We're we're we're.
Speaker 3 (50:07):
Tax is a bad word, and I get it, it's
not a good word. But when people see that, and
you live in Denham Springs, you need to you need
to understand and know that that that's.
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Won't affect in your mind. It will affect you in
a good way. Well, you're going to be getting.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
You may see two more patrolmen in the city of
Donam Springs, which is a good thing. Yes, yeah, because
we're growing, we're developing, and we want more officers to
to to reach that development.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
That's right, and that's why the education is so important.
You're asking for any sort of change in the way
that you collect money, and and so they're doing a
good job of that by going to the school board
and saying, hey, here's what we're looking at doing and
it'll be a but of the people and all that
sort of stuff. So, man, I wish you the best
(50:53):
of luck. You're coming in on the on the back
end of this thing. I think you're doing a great Uh.
And for if people want any more information, where would
you send them to?
Speaker 4 (51:05):
You can?
Speaker 3 (51:05):
You can just follow me on Facebook? Yeah, my my
personal email is out there on Facebook. I'm I'm I'm
pretty active walking a lot of neighborhoods right now. First off,
I want to thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (51:17):
Oh man, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
I'm just trying to reach trying to reach some people.
Speaker 2 (51:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
And I mean, if anybody has any questions that all
do not hesitate to reach out, whether that's be a
Facebook messenger, if you have my cell phone number, my
personal email, I'll come to your house and drink coffee
with you. I don't I'll go any time anywhere. We'll
make it happen, you know. And I mean, it's it's
it's it's doing the right things, saying the right things,
(51:41):
and meeting the right people. And at the end of
the day, if you can you can spread your message
that we need to get back to loving one another.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
We're all, We're all.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
I told you this earlier. We're all We're all God's children.
Speaker 4 (51:52):
That's right. You know.
Speaker 3 (51:52):
We need to we need to eliminate the hate. We
need to love each other and we need to we
need to make sure our intentions are are the best
and and and my utmost, foremost goal is what's best
for the children all over twenty six thousand students of
Livingston Parish Public schools. That's why I'm running. I'm running
to be a voice. I'm running to be an advocate.
(52:14):
I'm running to get things done. And I mean I'm young,
I'm energetic. I work in this parish, I live in
this parish, my wife works in this parish. I'm proud
to be from Livingston Parish. Livingston Parish has been home
since two thousand and two. I want to continue to
try to serve in a different way, to lead in
a different way, and try to help our students and
our employees of Livingston Parish be the best people that
(52:35):
they can be.
Speaker 4 (52:36):
Perfect. I love it.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
And look, when you win, you come back on and
we'll have you on maybe about six months in and
you can give me an update. Absolutely all right, thank
you for coming on once again, and thank all of
you for listening, supporting, share the podcast and get the
word out on this awesome human being.
Speaker 4 (52:54):
Right here.
Speaker 2 (52:55):
He is running for the District two seat in the
school board in Livingston Parish. And until next time, I'm
Jim Chapman reminding you love your community, support local business
and keep leading.
Speaker 4 (53:08):
Thank you very much,
Hi, this is Lori Johnson with Hancock Whitney Bank, and
you're listening to Local Leaders the podcast. Visit Local leadersthepodcast
dot com for previous episodes or for information on peering
on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hey everyone, and welcome back to Local Leaders of the podcast.
And look on November fifth, we have a ballot. It
has a lot of important elections on it, not only
nationally but here locally. Now one of those names is
here with us today, so I want to welcome him.
And I'm gonna let you introduce yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for having me. Yeah, my
name is Taylor Hubert. I'm not really a lifelong resident
of Watson, but my family moved here when I was
five years old.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well that's pretty much lifelong pretty much unless you're seven
and you look older than.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Seven pretty much.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
So my brother and I are six and a half
years apart. So when my parents had my brother, they
had said we're not going to put We're not going
to put two kids through private school, a central private
Let's uh.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Let's take the trip north.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Let's go to Watson and and you know, I'm a
product Olivis and Paris education, product to Livo High school.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And yeah, I'll see that livea shirt you got on
right now. It's funny, y'all because I got an yellow
jacket in the corner and he keeps looking at it
cross eye when he I'm just getting red Beard sees this,
go Eagles, there you go. Well, you're running for the
district to school boards. And that was Kelly Hennessy s
(01:27):
it was okay, and she is now in the legislature,
So I guess she vacated that seat and someone took
that seat over just temporarily as.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
An interim position. Yes, sir, Miss Stacy Robinson, Yeah she was.
She was an education I want to say, for over
thirty years when she retired. She retired as the assistant
principal position at Livo High School.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I have a lot of respect for for miss Kelly
and Miss Stacy Robinson. I think them both have done
done a wonderful job. Kelly Surfer almost twelve years.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Yeah, she was staple in that she was.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
She was and and she represented her people in her
district and the best way she could. And and Miss
Stacy's really carried on that legacy of I've told everybody
I wish Miss Stacy would run because she's way more
qualified than these. She she knows education, she knows the people,
she knows the she knows the rules a heck of
a lot better than I do.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Yeah, she's not interested in she wants to enjoy a retirement.
I don't blame her.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I don't blame her thirty plus years in public education.
She wants to go spend the time with family and grandkids.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, very good. And now you have announced.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And your you're running like crazy. You are definitely burning
the soles off your shoes, trying to get the word
out on who you are, what you represent, all of
those sort of things. And you are married.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yes I am, I'm and I'm married to an educator. Yes,
my wife's sent her second year at Southside Elementary right
here in Dunham Springs. So I work in this parish,
she works in this parish. We're proud to spend our
money and be a part of livings to parish.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Love that.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
And you got a baby on the one I do do?
Uh Baylor Drew Hubert Uh Oh great nang. We found
found out the gender two week ago Saturday, so her
due dates March first. We're excited.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Uh, life, Life's changing man. Life's life's evolving. I'm a
big family person. So, uh, Drew was Drew was actually
the first name of my brothers, so he was. It's
pretty emotional when when we told him, hey, look her.
You know, boys middle name is gonna be named after you. Yeah,
and that's your first child. It is okay, so got
a boy your first time out.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, that was. That was the same way.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And uh, and you know, there's nothing like parenthood. Now
there's a lot of people listening probably know there's nothing
like it.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Did you do a gender reveal? We did?
Speaker 3 (03:37):
We we we had a I don't know what you
call him, little cannon or something popped the thing and
the blue or pink comes out, and uh, I just
had family. They're very small, very intimate, but it was, uh,
it was.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
It was awesome to see. That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You know, when my kids were born, they didn't have
that yet. So my wife's like, I can't believe we
missed that. On getting to do that, I said, I
don't know. I didn't think of it.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
I would have back back back in your age.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I just got told at the hospital and I was like,
all right, that's the time I found out we're having
a girl exactly, we're having twins. What my wife's a
twin actually, so I am very fortunate I'm not having
twins on my first go around.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
I'll tell you, well, very good. Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And I know that's exciting stuff. And throughout all of that,
life is just steady moving along. And Taylor decides he's
gonna put his hat in the name and the hat
for the school board Seaton, And I guess my first
question would be why.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Why why do that?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well, I'm young, I'm energetic, and i love my community,
and I've always felt the need to serve. I've a
coach travel baseball for ten years.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Uh so starting back in roughly twenty thirteen twenty fourteen,
started getting involved and uh and leading young men at
that time though that was fourteen and fifteen year olds,
trying to mold them into into you know what high
school would be the preparation in the high school baseball, Yeah,
and trying to make trying to make them into young
men and to expect in the real world. And then
and then got attached to a team, the Louisiana Nationals
(05:04):
out in Springfield. So I was with them for four
seasons and Uh, loved it, enjoyed it. My my father
got real sick, so I took I took a back seat,
and we lost him in May of last year. And
so after that, you know, it was just something that
kept calling to me, you know. I mean I met
with some principles in the Live Oak area and you know,
got their opinion, their honest opinion, and and and they said, look,
(05:27):
we would love to we would love to have you
as a voice, We would love to have you as representation.
And I just want to lead. And I think I
think that's what good leaders do. They bring people together.
They they formulate ideas, formulate opinions, and you know, sometimes
you got to step on toe, sometimes you got to
say the things that some other people are scared to say.
But at the end of the day, Uh, that's what
leaders do. You know, They take charge, They at the
(05:48):
front of the line, and they they give the best
representation they can for their community members.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I couldn't agree with you more. And you mentioned in
their voice and if y'all uh you were the voice
of the live play by play for.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
A little while, I was know we were talking about
that earlier. I I give all the credit in the
world to buy you Sports Network. Man, I that was
I tell everybody, that was the funnest five years of
my life. We were we were at the pinnacle.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
It was Brett Beard, Brett Beard's first year at Live
Oak and twenty fifteen was my first year. Yeah, and
I and I and I left when when when he
left in Denham, I mean when he left to go
to Denham.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
So that was, man.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
We we we saw some some some packed playoff games.
And I mean, I'll flat I'll tell you I witnessed
Live Oak football play in the playoffs the day after Thanksgiving,
which is has only happened one time. And to see
to see thousands of people packed the stands and and
and at one point we had over thirty five hundred listeners.
It was it was insane. It was something truly that
(06:49):
I'll never forget. You know how small it was in time.
It just looking back now that was almost five years,
five six seasons ago, it's like, wow, man, we we
touched a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
We impacted a lot of memories. It really does.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And and look and small smaller areas like Livingston Parish
and you know, it's a hard to miss. Call it
a small town anymore small parish. It has grown so much,
and we'll get into a little of that, but it.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Still has that small feel.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, and you know, Friday nights under the lights uh
is hard to beat no matter.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
What school it is. And I mean, let me ask you.
You held a meeting greet recently.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And one of the best things you can do at
meeting greets, I would imagine from a from your perspective,
is you learn what the people you're going to represent
ultimately are looking for in a rep. What are the
concerns things like that, And you've got a few of those.
I've been following your Facebook page, which incidentally give them
(07:54):
give them a follow on Facebook if you if you
give a chance, and he'll keep you updated.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
But one of the things was.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
With regard to the growth and your district specifically, which
I guess before we go any further district too, is
all of the live area essentially all of Watson Yeah. Okay,
so one of the biggest growing districts in the parish.
Multi purpose buildings or something that are concerned. Let's talk
(08:21):
about that for a minute. Why is that concern and
what can we do about it?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
A couple months ago before I even formally announced to
the public. I met with every principal and their staff.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
At each school. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
And you know, you drive by something for so many years,
don't you don't understand or see the problems that they
that they're facing every day.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Take for instance, Livo Elementary. The school was the first
elementary school built, which was over a little bit over
sixty years ago. Yeah, the school population has very much
increased in sixty years. At Livo Elementary, they don't have
enough bathrooms, cafeteria small, it's an older school. So you know,
(09:05):
the phrase I've heard is is yeah, a multipurpose building
and what is that? That's something that that they can
have an awards day ceremony at the end of the year.
They can have a Christmas play. They can welcome just
more than just the mom and dads for that children.
They can welcome grandparents. They can welcome brothers and sisters
and aunts and uncles to see you know, junior or Susie, you.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Know, do X y Z. Whatever's going on at the school.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
And it's and it's sitting down with the principals and
just saying, look, we have any for this, And they
were showing me pictures, I mean of a of a
I believe it was a like a Christmas play that
that the elementary school had had. And just I mean
your shoulder to shoulder, you can't fit another you can't
fit another soul in there. And then incorporate bathrooms into that.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Building, you know. So you know, I think I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Pretty sure Libo Elementary only has two bathrooms, one on
each side of the school. But back then you only
had a very limited number of students, so you didn't
have a need to build a whole bunch of bathrooms.
And you know, you know as well as I do,
you can't take a sixty year old building and just
throw some more plumbing up there.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Yeah, I mean you've got to You've got to do something.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And and and that's a that's a big thing because
it's it's I guess it's the it's in the name multipurpose, right,
you know, bathrooms, picnic tables.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
You can use it for plays, you can use it.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
For X, you know, whatever the case may be, to
house the students or house you know, members of family
for certain activities.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Agreed And I'll.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Tell you this, you know, and this was has been
a couple of years ago, but it reminds me of
the importance of the school board every time I think
about it. Twenty sixteen, we had obviously a major flood,
especially here in the Denham Springs area, where everything went
under feet of water. I had three kids that were
(10:54):
all in school. One was starting at Dinhim Springs High School.
The other two were supposed to start right up the
road at Southside Junior High and south Side Junior High
went completely underwater. Was you know, ended up being demolished
and rebuilt during that flood, and it was, you know,
(11:17):
it was horrible for so many of us around here.
The consideration of people with kids. I remember distinctly thinking,
how the kid's going to go to school?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Like that clicked after about four days, how are the
kids going to go?
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I cannot tell you how proud I was we had.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
A school board that stepped up.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Sure they did a bang up job, for sure, And
that's a lot of pressure you've now got. I think
most of the schools in the parish were flooded. I
mean it was a mess.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
It was unbelief.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
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(12:33):
these positions, these boards that people get voted into, if
you know, people don't put enough thought into the importance
of who you're putting in that position.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Is it someone that can handle pressure? Sure?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Is it someone that has their heart in the right place.
Is someone that sees things? You know, not everybody's gonna
agree on everything. Unfortunately, I'd be great if everybody agree
with me, But I never find that.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
If you want to make everybody happy, go sell ice.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
From that aspect, That's what I think about when I
think about voting for candidates for school board is if
it floods tomorrow. Is that guy going to be able
to come up with a plane and handle it?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
One thing?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
And I I'll come out and say, you've impressed me
a lot with your thought process. You think outside the box,
which I look for in all leaders, because not everything
is cookie cutter.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
As a matter of fact, most of the time it's not.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
It's it never turns out how you think it's going
to turn out on paper, and you have to see
all sides. Let me ask you another thing. Another concern
that was brought up was in reference to technology.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
So Levis to Paris is a one to one parish,
and certain schools get certain federal funding for technology, and
most of the live of schools don't. So the problem
I hear from Principles and their staff is, hey, look,
you know we we're one to one.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
So each kid and.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I don't think kindergarten has thrown into this us, but
I think it may start in first grade. You know,
each kid is sent home with their own his or
her laptop or tablet whatever it is. And they're not
expensive tablets. I mean, let's just say the max value
of it's five hundred dollars. Well, how long do you
think a five hundred dollars piece of equipment would last
you in the podcast industry, right, it's not long much
(14:20):
less of a much less of an elementary school kid
taking care of it, you know, one hundred and two
eighths out of the school year.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Probably not, probably not, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So, so it's ways to try to get creative, to
to get some funding or get monies that are freed
up or allowed, and whether that's through a federal grant
or whatever. Just just let's put our heads together. Let's
see what's available out there to to get children the
access to technology and new technology. Let's just say every
three to four years, you know, let them let them
(14:50):
follow for instance, let it follow them from their freshmen
to their to their senior year, or or or let
it follow them from first to fourth grade and then
you know onward and omar like that. So you know,
what can we do to to to limit the life
term I guess of that of that specific device. I mean,
they're only gonna last so long. Some of them break.
(15:11):
Now they've got band aids, they've got duct tape on them.
So what can we do? What can I do as
a school board member to say, let's let's let's look
outside the box, like you said, and let's see what's
out there available funds wise to say whether we can
get laptops, laptop carts, charging carts, whatever it may need,
so these students can have the best tools capable year
(15:34):
and a year out to succeed and and and mold
themselves for the next step in life.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's hugely important. And I actually served on a committee
and I'll give you a good example of that, and
it was called the Link Up Livingston Committee, and our
whole goal was we were trying to get internet for
underserved parts of the parish. There were grants out there
called gumbo grants, and I think they have a second
(16:01):
aspect to that now. But these gumbo grants were a competition.
It wasn't every parish gets this amount of money. You
had to compete for funding. One thing that we learned
and another thing that the school board here I think
in Livingston Paris did a great job with because nobody
saw it coming was COVID. But one thing we learned
(16:24):
in COVID is that if these kids are home, there's
a lot of issues with like internet access. You know,
it's hard to get online when you have good and
you're in the middle of Denim Springs. You have good
internet access and you're trying to get online to these.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Portals to have school.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Much less if you were in the middle of nowhere
and there's no service. And some of these kids, sadly,
there was a lot of aspects of this pariship were underserved.
We were blessed we were able to secure millions of
dollars in funding for some underserved parts of this parish.
But those are things from a school board perspective that
(17:06):
y'all may never see coming until it hits. Nobody saw COVID.
I mean, you know, nobody saw it coming, and then
it was two weeks to slow the curve or whatever
it was, and that became forever and ever. Nobody saw
that coming. And I think our school board did a
pretty good job of handling that. Yeah, And that those
(17:28):
are things. That's the importance of this particular position, this
particular vote, is those are the people you put in place.
Those are the ones that are going to handle on
children and when they're faced with things like this. So
another thing pay raises.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
It's the elephant everybody ever wants to talk about. They
don't because it's hard to find a solution. Right, it is,
it is?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
And I mean, what do we you know, I guess,
I guess in this day and age in twenty twenty four.
You know, my wife's in education, my mother in law's
thirty one one years as a guidance counselor, and my
sister in law as a guidance counselor in this parish. Really,
my wife's twin sister is a teacher up in North Carolina. Yeah, educate,
education all over, educations all around our family, you know.
(18:14):
And the question I have, like to my wife, and
this is no discredit. You know, the morale is low.
Uh and and and it is becoming harder and harder
to not just be a teacher, but to be in
anything in the public education system. And and and why
is that? Well, you have zero support from the parent. Nowadays,
parents don't want a parent. And and I know I'm
(18:35):
somebody that's not quite the parent yet, but I mean
my generation, in your generation, if you acted up, oh.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yeah, you paid for it.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
My mom came to the school, I got whipped, the
principal whip me, and then my dad handled me when
he got off from work.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
So I mean, you don't you know, if the.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Teacher and my wife goes through this, you know, something
goes wrong. You've got to send a message. And then
the teachers just asking question after question to well, you
know what, what what about this?
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Well, what are you doing with this?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
You know, at the end of the day, little juniors,
he's acting up, it's causing a disruption in the class.
He I'm I'm I'm just a wearing you of the issue,
and and and and it's becoming harder for teachers to
do their job. I thought the Department of Education at
the state level did a really good job of the
the let Teachers Teach movement that they that they did
(19:25):
pass through Bessie cutting down on the Teachers Bill of Rights,
letting letting students that that are habitually disrupting a classroom,
let the teachers handle that, move them out, involve the
involved the admin at that point, because at that at
that point, you're affecting Let's just say you've got twenty
(19:47):
seven kids in the classroom, you're your your your best
interest is the other twenty six kids. This this kid's
a problem child that we're affecting the learning and the
ability to learn of the other twenty six children, and so,
you know, I thought the let Teachers Teach movement was
a great thing. And it also cut down on the
repetitive state trainings at the end of the year, so
you're taking the same training over and over again. It
(20:10):
cut down and consolidated to say, look, we're going to
do this as a one off training or or we're
revisited every like three or four years, whatever the language said.
So so the let Teachers Teach initiative was it was
a great thing in my opinion, for teachers in the
state of Louisiana, because it teachers need to go back
to just teaching right. We're we're we're getting whether it's
(20:31):
federal mandates, whether it's state mandates, or whether it's school mandates.
It's it's paperwork, it's stress, it's it's just we need
to go back to the old days and just let
them teach. And and and the parents need a parent
at the end of the day. I think if if
if we can get some help at home and get
some home support and in Junior and Tommy and Susie
(20:52):
can act right every the morale is going to increase
because the job is going to get easier. You know,
there's no such thing as a perfect job. If there was,
there'd be a million, there'ld be a million people in
line for that job, you know. But I think if
we can do some things collaboratively all together, and let's
just say it all kind of works itself out, and
this new initiative ends up being good for the teachers
(21:14):
Bill of rights per se. You know, hopefully teachers can
become a little a little less stressed, you know, a little,
a little more into their to the realm of norm
of of just doing what they're what they were hired
to do in the beginning.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I would agree.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
And you know, one of the ways, uh Taylor, with
regard to raises in particular, if you look around or
surrounding parishes, uh, and don't fool yourself. These teachers do
the same thing when they're looking at jobs and they've
got options, especially good teachers, look experienced, been in in
(21:48):
a while, great track record. Other parishes figure that out
and if they're coming looking for a job, money matters.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Money matters now for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Will always say that you can get paid a million
dollars a year, and if you don't have passion for
what you're doing, it's not going to make a difference.
But if you have passion for what you're doing, and
you know you have someone offering you a substantial amount
of money more to move, it's harder to keep your
(22:21):
good teachers. And that's common sense for everybody. So any
school board would sit down and say, Yep, you're right.
Everybody knows that we need to pay our teachers more.
The question is how we don't have any money or
I've always been a fan of cutting, cutting where things
need to be cut. If there's some fat somewhere that
(22:43):
you can cut off, maybe you're a little heavy in
one area and you can shift some money around.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I don't know. I don't have the.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Books, but I've always been someone that that looks into, Okay,
what's our bidding process?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Like are we.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Bidding out jobs or we just kind of going with
the same people we've always got on with. Can we
save some money maybe with this paint person rather than
that paint manufacturer.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
You when we sat down initially and discussed all this,
one thing I liked is that you're like, Yeah, we
need to get out of the box.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
We need to We're going to have to figure out
a way we're going to have to.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
So, I mean Livingston is out out of the out
of the six surrounding and Livingston's included in this. Out
of the six surrounding school districts, Livingston is dead last.
So so you go Ascension, East, Baton, Rouge, Zachary, Central,
Livingston and Tangibahoa. Wow, Livingston ranks last and pay.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Start starting to that.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
So everybody is leaving us in regards to recruitment and retention.
And you know what can we do to recruit people
in Livingston Parish out of college? Well you got to
pay them. Yeah, you know, why would they come to
Livingston when they can go to Ascension? Why would they
(23:57):
come to Livingston when they can go to a go
to Central or Tangibaho. You know, you've got to pay
them and you've got to be competitive in that. And
then how do you on the flip side of that,
how do you retain a ten plus year veteran teacher.
You got to pay them, you know. So if they're
if our pay scale is eight thousand dollars short of
(24:18):
what Ascensions in Central is, and it is, why would
they stay here? And I think it's evident when you
had one hundred and fifty teachers leave the parish. Not
taking mind some of them did retire, so it's not
all one hundred and fifty just leaving in bus loads.
But you had a turnover rate of one hundred and
fifty teachers this past summer. You have teachers that I
(24:39):
know for a fact, my son, just my daughter, My
son had just graduated. I'm not tied to living to
Paris no more. I'm going to Ascension to make twelve thousand,
five hundred more years. That's the exact conversation. Look, I
was I stayed here and lives to Paris because my
children went to the school. You know, I got to
bring them to work every day, I got to bring
them home after school. We're not tied to that anymore.
(25:01):
There's no more strings attached for me to stay here.
So I can now go make more money from my family.
And at the end of the day, you can't blame them.
I mean, at the end of the day, you're gonna
go take more money. I can't look at you and say, well,
you're you're you're morally wrong for that.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
You're not.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
I mean, why and why would you blame them? You know,
these are these are these are these are civil surface workers?
You know, these are our These are our backbone of
our of our United States economy. I mean it starts
in the classroom, in kindergarten, in first grade.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And our people.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I mean, if they are education, it's it's I have
always tried distress the importance of if you want to
make a difference in in your community, Uh, it starts
with the people you're raising. Yeah, and the tools that
you're giving the people that are teaching these people. Nothing
(25:55):
in life is as important as education from KA twelve
in my opinion, because that's when they're reared. You know
what I mean, show me a man at ten. I'll
show you a man at forty five. Between those ages
they're reared. That's why elementary schools teachers, for example, to me,
have the most important job of all because by the
(26:17):
time they hit middle school, most of them have developed
a personality and work habits and things like that. Now
that can change over time with the right teachers and
education people in place, But you've got to take care
of these people. And there are some teachers here. I
know a lot of teachers, and there are teachers here
in this parish that absolutely love what they do, and
(26:40):
they could probably make what they made forever and they
wouldn't leave this parish because they have a heart for
this parish.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
But it's the.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
New teachers, the new people coming out of college with
an education degree that you're trying to attract because all
those teachers are getting up there in age, they're going
to be retiring and and uh, and it all starts
with thinking outside the box. I know one of the
things that was kicked around was a impact fee on
construction uh for incoming housing UH and that impact fee
(27:12):
would go towards teacher raises. And I thought that was
pretty well thought out.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I heard the council council say that. I thought it
was a wonderful idea. I think it's unfortunate previous councils
years and years ago didn't And yeah, and initialize that.
I'm pretty sure the city of them Springs does that
already with their city council. Yeah, I think it's wonderful.
I mean, you're talking about an impact fee that goes
to the school system, that goes to gravity and drainage
that goes to the sewer district. You know, what can
(27:39):
you take away from that? You know, and at the
end of the day, you you these developers are coming in.
They don't care about Leviston Parish. You know, they're here
to They're here to build a home and get out,
you know. So I mean, you know, if they want
to build a they want to build a subdivision, you know.
And I said, whatever that size would be, you know,
in the subdivision you know what state their money?
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Yeah, well, and they are.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
They're impacting everything from drainage to schools. You're putting stress
on these schools. And no good school administrator is going
to come out and say, hey, we can't handle these kids.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
There's too many kids.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
They're not going to do that, in fact, but you know,
use a little common sense there. If you go from
a thousand kids to fourteen hundred kids with the same
amount of teachers, there's some pressure. There's definitely some pressure there.
And so we absolutely have to look it away to
you know, find some money to pay our teachers and
(28:35):
some of the other things like these multi purpose buildings
that you brought up. And I think that's a good
way to do it. I think it needs to be
looked into. And I'm gonna I'm gonna put a feather
in your cap right now, because one thing that I
really like that you're doing is that you're going out
to all the elected official kind of introducing yourself, telling
(28:57):
them what you know, your thought process is on how
things can be improved, and uh so you're taking the initiative. Yeah,
and you have to have a good relationship with the
council in certain aspects because the council is the one
who is going to approve that impact fee. Absolutely, so
(29:17):
you have to have a a at least a communicative
relationship with them. And you're doing a great job going
around to, you know, just about every elected official and saying, hey,
I'm here to help.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Look, I've met I've met with current board members on
the board. I've met with every principal and almost every
assistant principal in the Live Oak schools. I've met with
I've met with our previous superintendent and now our current superintendent.
I mean, I've met with the assessor.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
I've met with the sheriff.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
I want people to know who I am. I want
to I want people to know what I stand for
and what I believe in. But on the flip side
of that, i've met with I've walked neighborhoods. I've knocked
on doors. I've had a meet and greet at Cassa Maria,
I've had a meet and greet in plain View Ridge.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
I want I want the normal.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Citizen, whether they're whether they're an employee of Livingston Parish
Public schools or whether they're just a taxpayer of Livingston
Parish and their children go to school here. I want
people to know who I am, what I believe in,
and what I stand for. And it's trying to display
that message out very quickly. I mean, it's we're already
in September past Labor Day and there's an election on
(30:22):
November fifth. You know, it's here quick, you know. So,
I mean it's reaching as many people as I can
to share my message. And at the end of the day,
if you're not doing this for the betterment of the kids,
why are you doing this?
Speaker 4 (30:37):
You know?
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Yeah, the ideas I have they're probably not always the
best ideas, but I believe in surrounding myself with people
that are smarter than me and leaning on others also
in their opinions and their advice, because you at the
end of the day, I'm running because I want to
represent Livingston Parish Public Schools and the children and it's
employees in the best shape possible.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
I want to give them.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
The keys to succeed, to have success as a student
and as an employee. And I mean we're talking from
the teacher all the way down to the bus driver.
It starts with the bus drivers in the morning. They're
the first ones to see the kids. And without the
bus drivers and kids don't get to school.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
You know. So it takes an entire and it takes
an entire team.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
And yeah, pay raises are an issue, and I mean, look,
I'm tired of talking about them.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
We're ready to I'm ready to fight it. You're ready
to fight about that because.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
It has to happen. And I mean, at the end
of the day, you know, we talked about it. We've
got to retain and we've got to recruit. So how
do we do that. Well, I mean, look, we can
incentivize all we want, but pat on the backs, little
gift certificates to hear and there they don't pay nobody's
mortgage and they don't pay for football cleats or dance shoes.
It has to happen sooner than later. We have to
(31:43):
do something and look, I've said from the beginning, if
education starts to fall, your property value starts to fall,
you go right around East Baton Rouge Parish. I mean,
they're you just nailed it.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Let that sink in, folks, even if because there's some
people that they may sit around, they may say, I
don't have kids in school anymore. I don't really have
any skin in that game. You know, Oh it matters,
you just nailed it. Well, it affects everybody.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Every everything the one sent sales tax did did fail
and it and and look, people are burdened by taxes.
But I'm I'm a tax paying citizen. Also, I live
in Livingston, Paris. I'm burden by taxes. We are Nobody
wants to pay more taxes. But at the end of
the day, we have to get creative. We have to
think outside the box and we have to do something.
And if we do nothing and then we just sit around,
(32:29):
we keep talking about it, we keep passing around the
paton and just saying, well, look, you know what about this?
Speaker 4 (32:34):
What about this? Morale is still low.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I've met with these people, I've met with with our
employees there, we're not in a good spot. We have
great leadership now and I believe in mister Jody Purvis.
But but we have a lot more work that needs
to be done. And at the end of the day,
it's it's it's sitting up there on the podium and
talking about the things nobody wants to talk about. Nobody
wants to talk about the pay raise because it's a
(32:56):
bad subject to talk about. And the tax did fail,
and I'm and I'm sorry the tax failed. But at
the end of the day, we need to go look
at ourselves in the mirror and say, okay, well what
can we do. You know, the independent audit, we did
do an independent audit, and we did do a lean
frog spending assessment. The independent audit showed that, look, you know,
we're going to be short. We need twenty four million
dollars reoccurring yearly. You know, at the end of the day,
(33:18):
you know, the school board has their militic meeting on Thursday.
I think what people don't understand is the little bit
of revenue they're going to get from that militic, which
isn't much. I think it's like three point five million
more dollars. The cost of fuel this year alone is
from twenty twenty one is insane. The school, the parish
was spending six hundred and something thousand in fuel just
(33:40):
three years ago. It's over one point two million this year.
Speaker 4 (33:43):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
So I mean and just take just just take that,
take that chunk and then we lose COVID esser money
at the end of the year or I'm sorry, we
lost that for this school year, so that those eser funds,
that COVID money, it's gone.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
It's gone. And you know as well well.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
As I do, at the price of groceries, the price
of this, the price of that.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
Look everything, car insurance.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
I was fixing the saying, and homeowners insurances. My home
is built in two thousand and eight. I mean I
have been through. I bought my home in twenty twenty.
I'm on my fifth homeowners insurance company. Yeah, I can't
get I can't get a price now under thirty four
hundred dollars. And I can't get a new roof either,
you know. So it's either me go finance or pay
cash for a roof and I can get back down
to twelve hundred dollars a year. But it's it's everything,
(34:29):
and there's some things that are that us the people
in our local government. We don't have any control over
you know, where does car insurance easeman and where does
homeowners insurance come in at with? In my opinion, that
comes from our state level. You know, we have to
incentivize insurance companies to come to business in Louisiana again,
you know, and I don't think I don't have to
and I don't think we need to be in the
(34:49):
back pocket of big lawyers. Yeah, you drive around Louisiana
and you're not from here, you would think attorneys are
the governor.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
You know, they got billboards everywhere. That's true.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
But you know why is our car insurance so high? Well,
so many people are uninsured and and they can sue,
you can get the offender bender and things. So you
for half a million dollars a year and you never
went to the doctor. Yeah, you know, so I mean
that there's what Why is our homeowners insurance so high?
Because the state of Louisiana made it so difficult to
write policies and if you made one little mistake, they
would penalize you and they would regulate you. And then
(35:20):
taking mind, we also had what was it, three hurricanes
in a calendar year, of full twelve months, you know, yeah,
one and one and I guess two in Lake Charles
and then Hurricane Ida. So yeah, that didn't help either.
But I mean, we're we're affected on every end of
the spectrum right now. You know, there is a lot
of stake, there's a lot of at stake on our
federal election on November fifth, and I and look, I
(35:42):
hope and only I can hope and pray that our
that our state government can hear the issues that the
that the normal middle class working person has said and said,
Look I am I am struggling. You know, I've got
to get some easement on on on insurance wise. I mean,
I've I've done business with the same insurance company ever
since I was an adult, when I always had American National.
(36:06):
American National quit writing policies in the state of Louisiana.
So them, as the insurance company I was with, they
sent my home. Out of all the people they deal with,
which I don't remember the number, she told me, only
seven companies came back to underwriting to say, look, we'll
cover his home. Wow, it's an epidemic, and look my
roof is not old. Yeah, it's not like I've got
(36:29):
a hole in the middle of my roof. I mean,
it's just the home was built, No.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
Eight.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
The roof is two thousand and eight. And insurance companies
look at that nowadays and go, look, we're still getting
regulated the crap out of in Louisiana. And you know,
who knows a Category five might come around there tomorrow.
We're not going to cover that thing. And if we do,
he's gonna pay for it. Right, thirty six hundred dollars
a years, a lot of money for a home of
my size. It's a very modest, you know, starter family
(36:56):
type home.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Yeah, no, I agree, And so that create has.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
It and seen and you mentioned it that you know
this this uh raise for the teachers.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
Was on the ballot. It was voted down.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
I think that that you know, from a and this
is a citizen speaking, but I think from my perspective,
it could have been promoted a little better. I don't
think a lot of people understood it. And I think
that when you want to get anything passed, you have
to almost go overboard on education of it and what
(37:31):
it is and why we're asking for it and who's
it benefiting. Because I don't believe the vast majority of
our citizens here in Livingston Paris do not want to
pay our teachers.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
I just refuse to believe that.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
And I would almost bet anybody any amount of money
that I think that it came down to.
Speaker 4 (37:50):
The promotion of it and making sure.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
I think one thing that's important to the citizens is
that they know it's going where we're being told it's
going for sure.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And so you know, look, I think unfortunately social media
plays such a large role in everything we do nowadays. Yes,
and it's a double edged sword. So I you know
that the tax was voted on. I believe in March
of twenty three, I went to two meetings. I went
to one at live Oak and I went to one
in Denham. Between both of the meetings, I was probably
(38:22):
one of between fifty and sixty people there. Yeah, it
was a public meeting. Nobody nobody wants to be educated,
but they will believe whatever they see on social media.
And it's unfortunate. You know, I talked to the mother
last week. You know, she she wants to educate her children,
they're thirteen and eleven. She she wants to educate them
as to what's going on in their and their and
(38:43):
their local government. What's going on in their the federal government?
Who why we're going to vote for this person? But
ask why why are we going to vote for this person?
I said, props to you. Not everybody does. Nobody does
that anymore. You know, nobody wants to be educated. But
if somebody said, I can put on Facebook tonight the
grass said denim springs is is going to turn purple
on thirsty, Somebody's gonna believe it. Well it's on he
(39:06):
said it, it must be true, you know. So so
there was some things out there that you know, there
was some there was some half true, half truths to it.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
I think that there was a lot of there was
a lot of intake about hey, look, you know, if
we buy a vehicle in Livingston Paris, the one percent
is going to really really affect us on that end. Well, look,
there's in my and I think there's four main manufactured
dealerships and Livingston Paris. They're all on tube and denim.
So you got Kia, Nissan, Dodge, and Jeep. Okay, so
(39:37):
let's just say you buy a sixty thousand dollars vehicle
and at one percent of that that a FI detacks.
That's six hundred dollars. Let's just say the life of
your loan is.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
Let's just say four months.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Let's just say the life of your loan is sixty months.
It's ten dollars a month, you know, and it and
it didn't affect grocery and obviously we weren't taxed on gas.
I mean, yeah, look, I do I think the tax
had some good things to it. I do, I believe that.
But at the end of the day, it didn't pass,
(40:13):
and we have to do something, you know, and I
keep I keep going to that. You know, East bat
Rooge has the same one percent of the f ID tax. Yeah,
Tangibahoa has a half cent. And Ascension was smart they
put it in their property taxes, right and I mean
I was down on Highway thirty. I travel for work
around the Louisiana area driving down Highway thirty. They were
(40:36):
smart to put it in the property taxes because they
have the industry. Oh yeah, you know, they're going to
collect way more revenue on that one percent in the
property than they ever would in the sales taxes, no doubt.
I mean, I can take I can name you five
chemical plants right off the bat and we haven't even
gotten until unite at Rentals and Granger and you know,
I mean just Cubellus, I mean since so, yeah, Ascension
has the industry where we don't people support our education system.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
I don't want people to think that they don't. It's
just we're burdened by things right now. We have to
figure something out. We have to look at the numbers.
And I think the independent audit showed us that that hey, look,
you know, there's you know, unless we cut some serious,
serious fat, there's not twenty four million dollars there reoccurring yearly,
and a raise is eminent. I mean, we have to
(41:23):
we have to give them something. We have to show
that that hey, look we can we can do this
because we need to be back number one.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
And and look, you know it's not even like a
raise as much as it is with the inflation. They're
really at a loss. They're really making less money than
they did two years again.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
And you are, yeah, maybe our dollar doesn't go as
far as what it did in t twenty twenty nineteen.
I mean, we're all we're all impacted by this. Yeah,
you know, I think that that's why I said it earlier.
I think there's a lot at stake at the federal
side in November. You know, I mean, we're we're we're
we're hurting. People are hurting, you know, I mean, we're
not There's not many one percenters floating around the Saint
Malibu in California. You know this, Saint We're we're the
(42:06):
We're the backbone of the United States economy. We're middle
class people. Get up every day, we go to work,
we put our boots on, and and you know, we're
tired in the afternoons. When we come home, we cook supper,
we play with our kids, we love on our wives,
and you know, we do the same thing five six
days a week.
Speaker 4 (42:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
We were we are middle class people.
Speaker 4 (42:23):
You know, that's right. I agree, and I have no doubt.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
That I got a really big feeling that that's probably
top on your agenda of things to look at and
and solve and work with people on, because you know,
you can't do it alone. You've got to work with others.
And like you said, uh, you know, if you have
the smartest person in the room, you're probably in the
wrong room. Yeah, So sure, you're open to ideas and
(42:50):
and uh and things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
And that's what I like. You got to get creative, Jim. Look,
we're hired. The parish is hiring people right now. We
wouldn't have hired ten years ago. Yeah, you got to
throw a warm body in the classroom. And at the
end of the day, do you want a warm body
teaching your child?
Speaker 4 (43:04):
You know?
Speaker 3 (43:04):
I mean, look, we twenty years ago there was forty
job openings and that's probably high for twenty years ago. Yeah,
there was four hundred people applying. Yeah, you got two
hundred job openings. Now you got twenty people applying.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
We need to get back to that.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
So where do you find the mix? And the mix
is you got to recruit and you got to retain.
And how do you do both. Well, you got to
pay them, yep, you can give them good insurance, which
they have, but you got to recruit them and you
got to retain them. And at the end of the day,
unless you're one heck of a salesman, money talks.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
Yeah, you know that's right.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Let's talk about something that recently occurred in the school system,
and that is cell phones. So, man, when I went
to school, cell phones, I'm not that old y'all.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
But because they had cell phones, they just zipped up
in a bag and they were like a million dollars.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
But nowadays, apparently that's something you can bring to school
and having your booksack and look to me personally, citizen
here speaking, I think it's a distraction. I don't think that. Look,
there are plenty of people that made it through high
school and middle school and elementary school when cell phones
(44:17):
never existed. I promise y'all out there that are just
now to the age that your kids are getting into school,
you don't have to have those. And the legislature had
figured that out, and they figured out this may be
a distraction that's taken away from education, so we're not
going to have them, and that there's a new law
(44:39):
in the books now.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I support I supported it, and I do agree. I
think it's a huge distraction. I think when you look
at most night through twelfth graders probably got to give
them a xenax for the first week of school because
they were so so true they didn't know what to do. Yeah,
I mean I talked to some of the principals. They
are like it, they're having like withdraws, and it looked
it's unfortunate, right, but it's the generation we live in.
(45:02):
Everybody's glued to Facebook, everybody's glued to t to TikTok, Twitter,
social media.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
I mean it love us, you know, parents, no exception.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
Right, I've got a snapchat, a couple of emails of
Facebook notification, and four text messages already and we've only
been on the air for less.
Speaker 4 (45:18):
Than an hour. Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
And we live and die by these cell phones.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Yes we do.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
And uh, and that's something that I think has.
Speaker 4 (45:27):
Created a distraction.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
And I'm not a grandpa here saying back in my
day and all that.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Sort of stuff.
Speaker 5 (45:33):
Although I feel like not that old old, but I
can I know that had I had a cell phone
when I was in high school, that's what I would
have been on.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
I wouldn't have been learning about, uh, you know, the
Civil War, things like like that. I would have been
learning about you know, snapchat and stuff. So there's a
place for it, and uh. And I just personally felt
like school was was not somewhare that that need to be.
Speaker 4 (46:01):
I don't think it compromises the safety.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
I know some parents, well what if something happens, I
can't get, you know, call school like like we did
in the old days, and the principal of page gym
to the office.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
And yeh, that's how we have a wonderful an alert
system as well. So I mean, let's just say, let's
just say something happened at the school our parents has
a wonderful I see national that's not the word, but
we have a wonderful alert system that reaches parents in
a snap of a finger.
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Why because of technology, because of the Apple and Android
market that has dominated our environment for the last fifteen years,
you know. So, I mean, look, it was a distraction.
I think the legislature looked at it and said, look,
technology is evolving. We need to evolve. And at the
end of the day, there's a thing called chat GPT.
Speaker 4 (46:50):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
You know, how do we know that these students aren't
using this to cheat on this algebra test, this physics test,
this geometry, this write this English paper.
Speaker 4 (47:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
So we had to the legislature really had to look
at that and say, we might, we might make some
some feelings hurt. But like I said, about five minutes ten,
you won't make everybody happy. Go sell ice cream.
Speaker 4 (47:12):
That's it. That's it. It's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
You just can't make everybody happy. So you're exactly right.
Last thing before we get out of here, I want
to get you know, we were talking earlier about thinking
outside the box.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
I watched the most.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Recent school board meeting and in that meeting, a lieutenant
from the Denham Springs PDE spoke and he spoke about
a occupancy tax that the City of Denham Springs is
looking to place on hotels in the city, and that
will pay for pay for your police officers and fire.
(47:50):
They're going to kind of like split it or something,
if I understand it correctly. I thought it was a
great idea, and I'm like, why have they not be
doing that? But you know it's it's like every great idea,
You're like, why didn't I think of that twenty years ago?
Speaker 4 (48:04):
Exactly?
Speaker 2 (48:05):
So you know that that is an example of what
thinking outside the box will give you. You have a
passion for it, you can see when we talk, and
that's what I look for in any candidate for any
job that's serving the public. So I think that that
is an out of the box way of thinking to
(48:27):
find money. And I hope that y'all can come up
with some sort of idea there, because I think that
it all starts. It all starts with your teachers. See,
I believe that.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
You're correct, and people also, and this speaks to the
people inside the city of them Springs. They need to
be educated on it. This is not a text that's
going to affect them now unless their wife kicks them out.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
Or there our air conditioner breaks the Look this this effects.
Take my company.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
We put people up in at the Comforting right there
off of off of South Range by Dallons, Uh, probably
four or five times a year. You know that our
company pays for so when we have outsiders come in,
we want to keep some of that money. And I'm
all for building another hotel. I mean, I mean, if
you're running out of room and the three hotels you got,
(49:20):
build another one. Get the money out of it, you know.
So at the end of the day, people need to
know that if you live in them, it doesn't it
doesn't affect your bottom dollar. This is for outsiders coming
in to support your first responders, the ones that respond
the fire, the police that you know, and it goes
to recruitment and retention, you know.
Speaker 4 (49:41):
How do you do it? And it's and it's pay
and we got to pay them.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
You know, they're they're worth it. Without them, we we're
just running around the streets.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
And like the movie.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
Out of the Purge, you know, we got to have
our first responders, you know, just like we've got to
have our teacher.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (50:00):
So, I mean, at the end of the day, we
we People just need to understand that that is not a.
Speaker 4 (50:05):
We're we're we're.
Speaker 3 (50:07):
Tax is a bad word, and I get it, it's
not a good word. But when people see that, and
you live in Denham Springs, you need to you need
to understand and know that that that's.
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Won't affect in your mind. It will affect you in
a good way. Well, you're going to be getting.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
You may see two more patrolmen in the city of
Donam Springs, which is a good thing. Yes, yeah, because
we're growing, we're developing, and we want more officers to
to to reach that development.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
That's right, and that's why the education is so important.
You're asking for any sort of change in the way
that you collect money, and and so they're doing a
good job of that by going to the school board
and saying, hey, here's what we're looking at doing and
it'll be a but of the people and all that
sort of stuff. So, man, I wish you the best
(50:53):
of luck. You're coming in on the on the back
end of this thing. I think you're doing a great Uh.
And for if people want any more information, where would
you send them to?
Speaker 4 (51:05):
You can?
Speaker 3 (51:05):
You can just follow me on Facebook? Yeah, my my
personal email is out there on Facebook. I'm I'm I'm
pretty active walking a lot of neighborhoods right now. First off,
I want to thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (51:17):
Oh man, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
I'm just trying to reach trying to reach some people.
Speaker 2 (51:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
And I mean, if anybody has any questions that all
do not hesitate to reach out, whether that's be a
Facebook messenger, if you have my cell phone number, my
personal email, I'll come to your house and drink coffee
with you. I don't I'll go any time anywhere. We'll
make it happen, you know. And I mean, it's it's
it's it's doing the right things, saying the right things,
(51:41):
and meeting the right people. And at the end of
the day, if you can you can spread your message
that we need to get back to loving one another.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
We're all, We're all.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
I told you this earlier. We're all We're all God's children.
Speaker 4 (51:52):
That's right. You know.
Speaker 3 (51:52):
We need to we need to eliminate the hate. We
need to love each other and we need to we
need to make sure our intentions are are the best
and and and my utmost, foremost goal is what's best
for the children all over twenty six thousand students of
Livingston Parish Public schools. That's why I'm running. I'm running
to be a voice. I'm running to be an advocate.
(52:14):
I'm running to get things done. And I mean I'm young,
I'm energetic. I work in this parish, I live in
this parish, my wife works in this parish. I'm proud
to be from Livingston Parish. Livingston Parish has been home
since two thousand and two. I want to continue to
try to serve in a different way, to lead in
a different way, and try to help our students and
our employees of Livingston Parish be the best people that
(52:35):
they can be.
Speaker 4 (52:36):
Perfect. I love it.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
And look, when you win, you come back on and
we'll have you on maybe about six months in and
you can give me an update. Absolutely all right, thank
you for coming on once again, and thank all of
you for listening, supporting, share the podcast and get the
word out on this awesome human being.
Speaker 4 (52:54):
Right here.
Speaker 2 (52:55):
He is running for the District two seat in the
school board in Livingston Parish. And until next time, I'm
Jim Chapman reminding you love your community, support local business
and keep leading.
Speaker 4 (53:08):
Thank you very much,
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