By Mason Harrison
Longtime education advocate Karran Harper Royal officially kicked off her campaign Thursday evening for the Orleans Parish School Board’s District 3 seat that encompasses parts of Gentilly, Mid-City, Lakeview and the City Park area.
During a kick-off event at the Community Book Center, Harper Royal fashioned her campaign a movement to “redefine reform” in the Orleans Parish school system as the debate over how to best overhaul schools in the area continues.
Harper Royal’s candidacy comes as various local education, religious and political leaders call on area residents to run for the board to help revamp education in New Orleans. But Harper Royal said her campaign is not aligned with any one particular group and that her campaign is a non-partisan effort.
“My first goal is to be aligned with the people of the city of New Orleans,” she said. During her announcement speech she reiterated her support for expanding seats for incoming students, backed the idea of neighborhood schools, and stood behind an elected school board “as long as every other parish in the state has an elected school board.”
Harper Royal has served on numerous education committees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and is a familiar presence at community forums and other events focusing on education. “This is a natural progression from the work that I’ve been doing for years,” Harper Royal said, referring to her decision to transition from activist to elected official.
“Progress has been made; we’ve created ‘some’ good schools,” Royal said in a statement announcing her candidacy. “But now is the time to create a great school system. We need reforms that are fair and equitable for all children. Too many of our families feel that there still aren’t meaningful options in this ‘all choice’ district. The Orleans Parish School Board has to have a vision and a plain for all of the children who are still trapped in failing schools.”
Harper Royal plans to hit the campaign trail this Saturday and will start canvassing neighborhoods in the district she hopes to represent.
“We need volunteers, we need your donations and we need you to tell everyone you know in District 3 to vote for Karran Harper Royal,” she said to rounds of applause during her speech.
Harper Royal’s campaign web site can be found at