(The Center Square) — The Caddo Parish School Board has selected Jeri Bowen to fill the vacant District 8 seat after longtime school board member Christine Tharpe stepped down last month.
During a special session held Sept. 2, the school board heard from three potential candidates for the vacant spot, ultimately voting for Jeri Bowen.
The three candidates were Bowen, Cheyenna Newman and Emma Shepard. Each candidate spoke to the board directly before a final vote was cast immediately following.
Bowen has lived in District 8 for about 25 years, and previously was selected to take the interim seat for District 8 during the pandemic before Tharpe was elected.
“That old saying fits me well. I am Caddo,” Bowen said during her address to the board. Bowen is currently the executive director of the Northwest Louisiana Family Justice. She will serve in this seat until a special election is held next April.
Tharpe joined the school board in November 2020 and was reelected for another term in 2022.
Her decision to step down came at the end of August, and her seat was officially announced as vacant during a special meeting held Aug. 22. Her reason for stepping down was not shared.
