On the Ballot: Two Vie For Lafayette School Board Seat

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

In July 2017, Leroy Thompson was appointed to the Lafayette County School Board as the representative of District 4, replacing Ken Hewlett who resigned from the board.

On Nov. 6, Thompson hopes to retain his seat when he faces opponent Mike Gooch.

The school board race is nonpartisan.

Leroy Thompson
Thompson, 73, graduated from Central High School in Oxford and went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Jackson State University. He earned his Masters of Education in counseling from the University of Mississippi.

Leroy Thompson. Photo provided. 

Before retiring, he worked as a high school instructor, employment counselor and hotel manager.

He says his education and experience as the incumbent make him the best candidate to serve on the school board.

“We, as a team, have made it a goal of striving through effective policy decisions of making the Lafayette County School District the best district in the state of Mississippi,” he said.

Thompson said his priorities in life are God, family and service to mankind, especially children.

“Because of these values and hard work, I have gone from poverty to a productive member of society,” he said.

He says he has no personal agenda to serve on the board, other than to continue to work in the best interest of Lafayette County children.

“I only want to continue the progress made under the present board and administration,” he said.

Thompson is married to Eulastine Martin Thompson. The couple has two adult children and are helping a young man, Robert, who they took into their home.

Mike Gooch

Gooch, a U.S. Army veteran and currently the director of Oxford Diagnostic Center, said his background in managing a multi-million-dollar budget and his ability to work well with a team makes him the best candidate to sit on the school board.

“I have one of the highest patient and employee satisfaction rates in the entire Baptist system,” he said. “I know how to work with people to achieve desired outcomes. Having been heavily involved in the planning phase of the new Baptist hospital will be beneficial to the school board during the planning and construction of our new elementary school.”

Gooch, 50, has four children with one currently a ninth-grader at Lafayette High School, which he says, gives him a vested interested in the school district.

A Lafayette High graduate himself, Gooch attended and graduated from the University of Mississippi. He is currently the president of the Oxford Lions Club and a graduate of Leadership Lafayette.

He says he’d like to see LCSD bring more technology into the classrooms to better prepare students for the future.

“I would also like to see our school continue its momentum towards becoming one of the top 10 school districts in Mississippi,” he said. “I feel it will be important to ensure our teachers have all of the necessary tools to achieve such a goal … Our children are our future and the viability of our community depends on us to ensure we give our children every opportunity to be successful.