By Kyle Roberts
This is the third part of a brief series introducing the newest members of the Lincoln Parish School Board in the upcoming term. All three of the members highlighted qualified for the election and will run unopposed.
Each was given the following interview four questions to answer in their own words:
- Why did you choose to run for the school board?
- What does the Lincoln Parish School system do well?
- What are some areas where you would like to see improvement?
- Once you have concluded your time on the board, what do you hope to see accomplished?
By Kyle Roberts
Anthony Drayton will join the Lincoln Parish School Board this fall without facing a challenger, and he arrives with six reasons to pay attention.
“I was compelled because I have three grandchildren plus three bonus grandchildren in the school system, and I would like to see the best education for not only my grandchildren, but children in general,” Drayton said.
A Ruston native who graduated from Ruston High School, Drayton qualified unopposed in District 9. Because no one else filed for the seat, he will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. He is one of three newcomers joining the board without opposition, along with Hunter Antley in District 5 and Wynn Rogers in District 6. Nine of the parish’s 12 seats drew no challenger during qualifying, leaving only Districts 2, 11 and 12 to be decided this fall.
Asked what the district already does well, Drayton pointed to the classroom and the people in it. His answer, and the one he gave about his own goals, both came back to staffing.
“I think that the school system is providing quality education to students,” Drayton said. “Hopefully, we are doing our best to maintain certified teachers and teachers who have a love for teaching.”
His concern heading into the job is the reorganization of the parish’s elementary schools, a plan the board approved 7-3 last November over the objections of three members, with two absent.
The measure converts Ruston’s elementary campuses — Hillcrest, Glen View, Cypress Springs and Ruston Elementary — into neighborhood PreK-5 schools beginning with the 2026-27 school year. PreK teachers who had been housed together will be embedded at the individual campuses, and the Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center will be repurposed to hold the school board office and the parish bus fleet. The changes take effect during Drayton’s first year on the board.
“I have a great concern about the school reconfiguration thing that’s going on,” Drayton said. “Hopefully that would be something that we can take a deeper look into, so that all students will have a fair opportunity for a good education.”
He will take up that question alongside a superintendent who is also new to his post. The board voted unanimously in May to hire John Young, previously the district’s assistant superintendent and a Lincoln Parish native who worked as a teacher, coach, athletic director and principal before moving into the central office.
Looking ahead to the end of his tenure, however long it runs, Drayton said he hopes the measure of his service shows up in the schools themselves — and in the adults who staff them. He returned to certification, and to the people who keep buildings running outside the classroom.
“I would hope that I’ve made a difference in the quality of the education for our students,” Drayton said, “making sure that we had certified teachers and great support staff for the schools to make sure that the schools run efficiently, and what’s best for the whole district.”pulation,” Antley said, adding that the growth should show up in extracurriculars and course options as well as in square footage.
