Prudhomme ready for opportunity

Brad Prudhomme’s phone began to ring Monday night, not long after the Vermilion Parish School Board voted to name him the interim superintendent of the school system.
And it kept ringing into Tuesday, even as he spoke to members of the Kiwanis Club of Abbeville.
“My phone has not stopped,” Prudhomme said with a laugh. “My last call on Monday was at 11:15 p.m. and it started again on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.”
People are congratulating Prudhomme after the board voted 5-3 to name him the interim superintendent during a special meeting Monday night.
“I received calls from neighboring parishes,” Prudhomme said. “I received calls from Lafayette, Iberia, Acadia and St. Landry.
“They all wished me luck.”
Prudhomme, speaking for the first time with his new title to the Kiwanis Club, said he is happy for this opportunity.
“First of all I want to thank God for giving me the health to be here to have this opportunity,” Prudhomme said.
Prudhomme replaces Jerome Puyau, who stepped down after reaching an agreement with the school board in December. Prudhomme has served as the school district’s Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance for several years.
“I love the work I do,” Prudhomme said. “I love serving people.”
Serving has been a big part of Prudhomme’s life. After attending one semester of college following high school graduation in Ville Platte, Prudhomme enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I went from the military back to college,” Prudhomme said.
Prudhomme attended LSU, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and McNeese State.
“I went to school with this in mind,” Prudhomme said, “to one day become a superintendent.”
Prudhomme now has that opportunity. He will serve as the interim superintendent until September. He said it is a good position to be in.
“I am blessed to be in such a good parish,” Prudhomme said. “We have wonderful teachers that work really hard. We have strong leadership from administrators and supervisors. We are an ‘A’ district because of all that hard work.
“It’s my job to try to keep us up there.”