The Allen Parish School Board will meet again at 5 p.m. Thursday to try to break a deadlock that kept board members from selecting the next superintendent on Monday.

After a series of three votes, board members were unable to break the 4-4 tie between the district’s Secondary Supervisor of Instruction and Assessment Brad Soileau of Oakdale and the district’s Child Welfare, Attendance and Transportation Supervisor Kenney Courville of Kinder.

Board members Sally Moreaux, Cathy Farris, Karen Reed and Carleen Mahfaffey supported Soileau while board members Pete Cavenah, Greg Monceau, Carolyn Manuel and Kevin Tyler favored Courville.

A third candidate, Dwain Ducote was eliminated. Ducote is the  transportation and maintenance director for the Vernon Parish School Board.

Because the School Board’s policy calls for a majority vote of the eight member board, neither candidate had enough votes to be selected outright, according to Board President Kevin Tyler.

“Anything short of 5 votes will require a re-vote,” Tyler said in explaining the voting procedure to be utilized to elect the new superintendent.

Board members voted by paper ballots, which were read aloud by the board president before verbally verifying their votes. Tyler said the verbal verification was suggested by the board’s legal counsel.

Because board members were unable to break the stalemate following a third and final vote held after a 15-minute break, the board agreed to meet again on Thursday to discuss the procedure and try to elect a new superintendent.

Farris said some type of policy needs to be put in place for a tie with the board’s new eight-member board. This is the first time the board has had a deadlock vote since the new eight-member board was created under the district’s new redistricting plan.

Moreaux suggested the board consider rating the candidate’s resumes to help make the selection.

Tyler said he will check with legal counsel to see if they can come up with something that will work for everybody and help break the board’s impasse.

The search for a new superintendent began in March after current Superintendent Kent Reed announced his plans to retire. Reed is set to return on June 30 after 37 years with with school district, the last four as superintendent.