Leon Sonny Franklin

Leon "Sonny" Franklin resigned as principal of Jackson Middle School to run against Donald Jefferson for the District 6, Division 1 seat.
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Franklin, now the dean of students at White Hills Preparatory Academy outside of Baker, got 1,141 votes to 872 for Jefferson, a member since January 1985.
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Franklin, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Board presidency, said he would be willing to work with her if she stays.

"But I think the board should leave the dealings with the superintendent's future to the new board.She has a contract until June 30, and if she performs favorably, there'd be no reason to change leaders."

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Franklin, from the vantage point of a past administrator, said he wasn't surprised by the turnover in board members.

"The people finally had enough of so many irregularities that it wasn't hard to get them convinced to make a change in the school system," he said.

To begin lifting the school system from its low rankings, the new board first should restructure its finances, Franklin said.

"This (current) board lost the confidence of the public, and it's time for a change," he said.

Next, the board must find workable education programs and stick with them, he said.

"They have some good ones now, but they make too many changes, too often," he said.

Employee salaries lag behind those in neighboring parishes, but "we lost a lot of good people who didn't leave because of money," Franklin said, noting that he took a $9,500 per year pay cut to run for School Board.

Franklin serves at White Hills Elementary in East Baton Rouge Parish with several former East Feliciana school employees, including former administrators Christel O'Quin and Wendell Mack.