ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) — The superintendent of St. Landry Parish schools will not be running for re-election. He made the announcement at Thursday’s school board meeting.

“I informed the board as well as the public that I will not be seeking an extension to my contract, however, I will be completing the school year,” Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said. 

Jenkins has been the superintendent in St. Landry Parish for almost seven years, but he says it’s time for someone else to carry the torch.

“I believe my role is to build a foundation, and we’ve built a good foundation here in St. Landry Parish,” Jenkins said. “Now it’s up to the next person that comes in to take St. Landry Parish to the next level. We all have our roles, and there is a season for everything we do in life. My season has come, and now it is time to pass the baton onto someone else.”

Jenkins says one of his biggest accomplishments in his time is increasing the graduation rate.  

“When I got here, we had a graduation rate for the district of 66.6%. We’re currently at an 81.5%,” he said. “African American students when i got here graduated at 61%. Now they’re at 83.5%. When I got here, we had some financial difficulties. We even had a period of time where we were in exigency, but now we have a fund balance that’s approximately $31 million.”

The superintendent also says when he took over, St. Landry Parish was two points away from being a D-school district. Within two school years, that rose to a B-status by 2018.

Jenkins says his goal in his remaining five months is to bring the district back to a B-school district once again.

“Can we get better? Absolutely, but we put a great foundation in place again,” he said. “Hopefully the next young lady or young man that comes in to take my place will be able to excel and accelerate the growth in St. Landry Parish.

The superintendent’s final day will be on June 30.