The Zachary Community School Board spent much of its March 18 meeting addressing issues that have arisen since the recent death of longtime member Gaynell Young: filling her vacancy on the panel, electing someone to take her place as president and discussing ways to honor her legacy.
Young died unexpectedly March 2. She had served on the board continuously since its inception in the early 2000s.
With Young’s husband and children looking on from the audience, the board on a 6-2 vote selected Tracey Taylor-Jarrell, coordinator of board relations for the Southern University Board of Supervisors Office, to represent District 1 on an interim basis. The board’s other option was Monique Fields, an attorney.
Taylor-Jarrell and Fields were both nominated by board member Crystal London. None of her colleagues suggested anyone else for the position.
London and Kenneth Mackie voted for Fields. The remaining six board members — David Dayton, Andrew Gaines, Laura Freeman, Ryan Talbot, Elecia Lathon and Marty Hughes — supported Taylor-Jarrell.
Taylor-Jarrell, a native and resident of the Port Hudson area and a 1988 graduate of Zachary High School, spoke to the board about her background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, an MBA and a doctorate in public policy.
Taylor-Jarrell said she knew Young as “Mama Gay” and had been close to her since childhood. The two had discussed ways Taylor-Jarrell could become more involved in community causes, including the possibility of one day serving on the school board.
“I would be deeply honored to carry forward this legacy, which has been built on values of integrity, hard work and community,” Taylor-Jarrell told the board. “I am committed to preserving these principles while also looking for ways to expand and innovate.”
Young won her final election in 2022. Because more than one year was left in her four-year term, the board was obligated to select an interim member to serve until a special election can be held to fill the District 1 seat, said board attorney Ricky McDavid. Had there been less than a year to go in the term, he said, the interim board member could have served until the next regular election.
The board approved a resolution calling for a primary to take place Oct. 11 with a general election to follow Nov. 15. The qualifying period will be in July.
Earlier in the meeting, the board chose Lathon to take Young’s place as president.
“Thank you guys for your confidence in me moving forward,” Lathon told her colleagues. “Big shoes to fill. I’m moved by the opportunity to continue Dr. Young’s legacy and all that she fought for and all that she meant to our district.”
The board also pondered the possibility of naming a facility in Young’s honor. Several board members recommended adding her name to Port Hudson Academy, which originally was an elementary school and now houses Zachary’s alternative school, because it is in her former district and was close to her heart.
No action was taken, as the topic was only on the agenda for discussion, not a vote.
Young’s son, Tramon Young, expressed his gratitude to the board.
“For this board to go above and beyond for our family means the world,” he said. “And to even consider putting her name on anything related the Zachary school system, but in particular that little school in Port Hudson — for a kid like me, my sister, for many that drive down East Flanacher Road, that school means a lot to us. And to have my mother’s name there would be an inspiration to so many.”
