BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish voters will choose between two candidates in the District 3 school board runoff in one month.

Four candidates originally ran for the seat. On election day, incumbent Carla Powell got more than 4,700 votes, and Thomasina Joseph got about 2,800 votes, sending them into a runoff.

District 3 is one of East Baton Rouge Parish schools' largest districts and includes nine public schools and two charter schools. Powell is finishing her first term and is seeking a second.

"I am running for re-election because I feel like I have more work to do," Powell said.

Powell is an educator with 22 years of experience. She has served as vice president and president of the school board. Her priorities include incorporating driver's education classes back in schools, creating more parent-teacher organizations and providing more meals and clothes to students in need.

"We can't expect our students to be prepared for testing and to be prepared to operate proficiently when they don't even have what they need to live," Powell said.

Joseph founded a nonprofit that helped bring back the Downtown Baton Rouge Earth Day celebration in 2025, after a 6-year hiatus. As a mother of three Scotlandville Magnet High graduates and a former EBR Schools employee, Joseph said she has seen the gaps within the district firsthand.

"I have been an actively engaged parent since my children started school. So, that's kind of where this stems from. Being an advocate for my students," Joseph said.

Joseph's priorities include expanding youth programs, getting more parents involved in their child's education and providing incentives to make more teachers want to stay with East Baton Rouge schools.

"Top priorities are making sure that students feel supported, teacher recruitment and retention," Joseph said.

Early voting runs from Nov. 28 through Dec. 5. The runoff is Saturday, Dec. 12.