Two retired educators, one who had the job before, and a young classroom teacher are vying to win an open seat on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.

They are seeking to replace Dadrius Lanus, who opted not to run for a third term representing District 2.

This is Vereta Lee’s third attempt to win back the north Baton Rouge school board seat she held from 2007 to 2018. Lanus defeated Lee in 2018, and she lost a 2022 rematch. She is a former elementary teacher who later worked as school administrator in St. Helena Parish and in Baker, where she retired from in 2023.

She said she needs no on-the-job training.

“I know first hand what I’m getting into because I’ve done it before,” said the 68-year-old Lee.

This time, Lee is facing two new opponents: Robert Signater Sr., 60, a former Glen Oaks High principal and football coach; and Tristan George, 27, who teaches at East Feliciana High School in Jackson. Retired high school teacher Edna Buchanan withdrew from the District 2 race after qualifying.

The election is Nov. 3, with a Dec. 12 runoff if necessary. Early voting continues through Tuesday.

Different experiences

Like Lee, Signater highlights his experience in schools.

“I have been a classroom teacher. I have been a head football coach and athletic director. I have been the dean. I have been assistant principal and I have been a principal,” Signater said at a recent election forum. “I know what it takes to grow a school. I also know how to build relationships with families and the community.”

Even though he is decades younger than his opponents, George is off to a fast professional start.

In 2023, during his first year at Northwestern Middle in Zachary, George was named “new teacher of the year” for the school and later a finalist statewide. He is a board member for the Capital Park Museum, a mentor with the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition and served briefly as secretary of the Baton Rouge branch of the NAACP.

This is his second run for public office. In 2022, George came up 77 votes short of winning a seat on the East Feliciana Parish School Board, the parish where he grew up. Now a Baton Rouge resident, George is running in a district with 12 times as many registered voters.

He first considered entering his latest race when he was in Changemakers, an education leadership program run by the influential nonprofit, the Baton Rouge Alliance for Students. As part of that program, he visited schools across the Capital City.

At first unsure given his age, George soon set aside his doubts.

“No, I can do this. I’m a teacher. I’m a veteran, and I know what works for our students,” George said at that same forum. “I’m in the classroom every single day, and so I want to bring that positive energy to our school board.”

District dimensions

All three candidates are Black and Democrats in a district that is 81% Black and 66% Democratic. District 2 covers a central swath of north Baton Rouge from the edge of Istrouma High in the south to Zachary in the north, situated mostly between Plank Road and Central.

District 2 also includes the large, sparsely populated Northeast area, home to a small elementary and high school, both in Pride.

Signater lives a few miles west of Northeast High. Lee represented the area after Northeast resident and board representative Randy Lamana died in 2014.

A friend of Lamana’s, Lee blamed Lanus for not showing up in Northeast much during his tenure. If elected, Lee promised to be active and visible there.

“They feel like they’re forgotten about,” Lee told The Advocate.

George leads in the money race so far. The most recent reports show him raising $11,746, followed by Signater with $7,385 and Lee with $3,020. Both George and Signater have the support of several ed reform groups, including The Alliance, which has an affiliated political action committee running independent campaigns on its behalf. Lee did not seek the support of The Alliance.

‘Kids leaving’

The candidates have differing ideas on how to combat declines in student enrollment. While still the state’s second-largest traditional district, East Baton Rouge currently has about 36,000 students, down from 42,000 before the COVID pandemic. In response, the district last year closed nine schools and may close more in the future.

“There’s got to be a reason for kids leaving,” Signater said. “The only reason I can think of is they can’t find anything they find interesting in those schools.”

In a similar vein, George pledged to assess the strengths and weaknesses of schools and push for necessary changes, along the way listening closely to school leaders, but also to teachers and students.

“I don’t know the answer as to how we attract more people to EBR outside of showing that what we do have in EBR is an excellent education for all of our students,” George said.

Lee pinned some of the blame for declining enrollment on the relentless focus on testing, saying it has taken the fun out of school.

“Kids are not excited to come to school any more,” she said.

District 2 has several schools struggling academically, putting them in danger of state sanction and potential takeover.

Lee faulted some schools with being too slow to help children who are behind in class.

“Why wait until January when a child is suffering in the first weeks of school?” she asked.

Signater faulted the school system for failing to sustain promising initiatives.

“The best part of that was you got kids to do something that nobody thought could be done,” Signater said.

As it was expanded districtwide, the number of required college-level courses was reduced and the percentage of students taking them shrank. Signater said if it had stayed a pilot longer, Glen Oaks would have shown the way for other schools, but also it would have had something special, making it more competitive with popular schools like Baton Rouge Magnet.

“You would see a different school today,” he said

George said he wants to see higher-performing schools collaborate more with lower-performing ones. He also wants to cultivate changes already under way.

“Let’s take a step back and look at what has been working and see how we can improve on that and build on that,” he said, “because East Baton Rouge has made a lot of strides, a lot of improvements over the past couple years.”

Cole future

Superintendent LaMont Cole was indicted in August on multiple public corruption charges arising from his previous job as an elected member of the Metro Council. His four-year contract as superintendent expires June 30, 2028, giving him 18 months left once the new board takes office in January.

All three candidates say they are willing for now to let Cole continue in the job.

“We need to provide due process and let that play out,” George said.

Lee said she has “known Mr. Cole for a good minute.” She respects his leadership, especially his skill in keeping students motivated. Cole is well-liked by many school employees, she said, many of whom dread a potentially tumultuous leadership change.

“They just don’t want to have to go through the process of finding a new superintendent, because they feel like the district is moving in the right direction,” Lee said.

Signater said he is approaching the issue with caution.

“Right now you’re kind of caught behind a rock and hard place,” Signater said. “If you get rid of him and he’s found not guilty, you have to spend a lot of money and then you have to spend double to find someone to serve as an interim.”