Harris announces reelection bid for Livingston Parish School Board

DENHAM SPRINGS — Livingston Parish School Board member Cecil Harris has announced he will seek reelection to the District 5 seat.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, with early voting scheduled for Oct. 20-27.

Harris has served on the board for six years, including two years as board president. During his tenure, he said he has supported independent reviews of district spending, increased campus security, and expanded academic and athletic facilities.

Accomplishments highlighted by Harris include:

• Adding classrooms to accommodate growing student enrollment;
• Expanding the STEM and Robotics Center to provide additional learning opportunities;
• Improving campus administrative offices;
• Supporting an independent, third-party analysis of the district’s budget and spending priorities;
• Improving and expanding athletic facilities on the Denham Springs High School campus;
• Placing school resource officers from the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office on all Denham Springs-area campuses;
• Installing vape detectors on Denham Springs-area campuses; and
• Adding security cameras to Denham Springs-area campuses.

“I have dedicated my career to promoting smart, professional policies in our public school system. If reelected, I will continue to make decisions that put our students first,” Harris said. “I am respectfully asking voters to allow me to continue serving this community that I so deeply love.”

Harris has more than 30 years of experience in business and public education. He began his career as a high school teacher and coach before becoming a supervisor with the Louisiana Department of Education.

He later worked as a sales representative for McGraw Hill and a regional vice president for Harcourt Publishing. He also founded and co-owned Pinnacle Education Group, which represented 12 publishing companies providing educational materials to public schools across a five-state region.

Harris also owned and managed a local dry-cleaning business for 20 years.

“I bring a lifetime of combined business and educational experience to this position. It has allowed me to clearly analyze the issues facing our school system today and make decisions that benefit our students and teachers,” he said.

A Denham Springs High School graduate, Harris earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southeastern Louisiana University, where he attended on a basketball scholarship. He is a member of the Denham Springs High School Hall of Fame.

Harris and his wife, Margaret, a retired Livingston Parish teacher with a master’s degree in education, are lifelong parish residents. They have three sons, all Denham Springs High School graduates, who work as a physician, commercial airline pilot, and nursing director at a retirement facility.