District 6 Representative Buddy Bethard was unanimously elected as the 2026 LaSalle Parish School Board President during the board’s first meeting of the new year held Tuesday night, January 6. Bethard had served as the board’s Vice President in 2025 and in years past served as Vice President and President. Also chosen to lead the board for the new year was District 4 Representative Marcia Cooksey, who was unanimously elected as Vice President for 2026. Bethard replaces District 7 Representative Deborah Mayo, who served as president in 2025. As commendation for Mayo’s service, LaSalle School Superintendent Jon Garrett presented her with an engraved gavel marking her tenure. “Mrs. Mayo has given a lot of her time and energy for many years in a whole bunch of positions for our school system,” Garrett said. “I’ve heard a bunch of stories about Mrs. Mayo in just the few years I’ve been here, and I really can’t tell you how many times somebody started out saying, ‘when Mrs. Mayo was my principal, we did this…’ and it was always something great that followed.”