For Franklin!
Garrison Griffith
I came here to serve, and that's why I'm running for School Board, District 3.
I came here to serve, and that's why I'm running for School Board, District 3.
My family and I moved to Franklin Parish in August of 2023. I came to pastor First Baptist Church Wisner because I believe the most important work happens in the places most people overlook. The longer I've been here, the more I love it. Franklin Parish is home, and I intend to treat it that way.
My wife Braiden and I have been married since 2012. Our daughter Eleanor (10) and son Graham (7) are students at Gilbert School. We're at the ballgames on Friday nights. We're in the pickup line. Our kids ride the same buses and walk the same halls as yours.
Before Franklin Parish, I spent seven years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in a variety of roles, the highest being Dean of Students. I earned my PhD in Pastoral Theology and Master of Divinity in Pastoral Leadership there as well. I also hold a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Those years in higher education showed me what students need to succeed after they graduate, and what they needed long before they arrived on campus.
Since moving here, I've worked to be a community partner. I'm a member of the Winnsboro Lions Club and the Franklin Parish Booster Club. I'm in the 2025–2026 class of Leadership Franklin. My family joined the Princess Theatre, where I've volunteered for Theatre Camp and acted in the spring student production of Charlotte's Web alongside local kids.
I'm running because of a conviction: doing right by the people closest to you is a duty, as a citizen, a parent, and a person of faith.
"Real education is determined by community needs, not by public tests."
— Wendell Berry
I'm running to serve, and I want you to know what I'll work toward on the Franklin Parish School Board.
I spent seven years in higher education. I saw students arrive prepared and students arrive lost, and the difference almost always traced back to what happened before they got to us. I want Franklin Parish students to leave school with real options: ready for college, equipped for a trade, or prepared to build a life right here. A diploma should open doors, wherever a student decides to walk.
Good teachers stay where they feel valued. That means competitive pay, yes, but it also means manageable workloads, real resources, and a school board that listens to them instead of talking past them. Franklin Parish can be a place where strong educators build a whole career. I will advocate for our teachers at the table where those decisions are made.
A child who feels unsafe or unseen cannot learn. Our schools need strong mental health support, meaningful extracurriculars, and adults who know our kids by name. As a pastor and a father, I know that caring for the whole child is the foundation everything else is built on.
Too often, rural schools teach kids that success is somewhere else. I moved to Franklin Parish on purpose, and I'm raising my children here on purpose. I want our schools to help students see this place the way I've come to see it: worth knowing, worth investing in, worth staying for.
I'm a pastor. Talking to people is what I do. If you have questions about our schools or about this campaign, reach out.
GGriffithFPSB@gmail.com