Lafayette Parish School Board member Mark Cockerham confirmed expectations Friday with an announcement that he'll be defending his District 7 seat come November.
District 7 school board member Mark Cockerham
Lafayette Parish School Board member Mark Cockerham confirmed expectations Friday with an announcement that he'll be defending his District 7 seat come November.
Elected in 2010, the stage for Cockerham's first term on the board was largely set by an effort to make the Lafayette Parish School System more than just "mediocre," culminating in the hire of Pat Cooper as superintendent. For Cockerham, the last four years have mostly been defined by his support for hiring Cooper, and his continued dedication to the Turnaround Plan, despite heightening animosities from some of his fellow board members toward the superintendent and his vision for the school system.
"I have decided to run ... to support Dr. Cooper's Turnaround Plan and to help provide some leadership to the new board," says Cockerham in a statement issued Friday.
The qualifying deadline for November's election is in two weeks, and so far, no opponent has stepped forward to challenge Cockerham.
Last time around, in 2010, Cockerham clobbered his lone opponent Thomas Brown with a vote of 2,456 to 1,033, taking 70.39 percent of the District 7 vote.