VIDALIA, La. — It usually takes newly elected officials a while to get used to the idea of being in public office — but not in the case of Raymond Riley Sr. Instead, Riley — who was elected Oct. 7 as a Concordia Parish School Board member representing District 2 — is busy poring through volumes of district policies and already has a list of education-related issues he wants to follow up on after he is sworn in Nov. 7.

&uot;Being on the board puts me in a better position to get answers on the questions I have and follow up to see what’s done about them,&uot;&160;said Riley, 38. Riley was elected over interim appointee Warren Dewayne Brown to fill the term of Eddie Coleman, who died of cancer in February.

One possibility Riley wants to pursue is the formation of an alternative school for the parish. In 1999, he served on a committee to research that subject and even visited alternative schools throughout the state to get an idea of what such a school would entail. &uot;Since then, though, nothing has been done on it that I know of,&uot;&160;Riley said. For his part, Riley advocates a &uot;boot camp&uot; setting that would give troubled students more structure.

The district now has a small alternative center at the Ferriday Education Center on Florida Avenue, but it can only accommodate 60 students.

Riley would like a citizen advisory committee of which he was a member, Citizens United for Better Education, to be formed again and to become more active. He said he would also listen to students’ concerns at every opportunity. &uot;I’ve learned that the most important thing is just to listen to what they have to say,&uot;&160;said Riley, who has worked with youth as a pastor and in coaching youth baseball.

And Riley has plenty of other advisers as well — namely, concerned citizens he met on the campaign trail. He found that fairly applied discipline, low student-teacher ratios and plenty of avenues for parental involvement are some of the things people want most from their school system.

&uot;Some (parents) will say, ‘These kids are going to do what they want to do anyway, so why get involved?’, but that’s not the right attitude,&uot; Riley said. &uot;We should all get more involved. The education of our children should be our first priority.&uot;

During the election, Riley also said he would work to make teachers’ qualifications more stringent and to find new ways to attract certified teachers to the parish. And even though he has not been sworn in yet, Riley is already being held accountable by those closest to him — his family.

&uot;My daughter, Cassidy, is already asking me, ‘Daddy, what you are going about this or that when you get on the board?’ I tell her, ‘I’m only one voice on the board — but I can make that voice heard’,&uot;&160;said Riley, who also has a son, Raymond Jr.

&uot;I&160;have three years left in this term, and that’s long enough to get some of these things done.&uot;

And Riley said he hopes to meet each of his fellow board members personally in the coming weeks to see what issues they feel are most important. Riley said he sees the school board as a team with one common goal: working for the good of the parish’s students. He believes that if such teamwork is there, it sets the tone for the whole district.

&uot;There is no way the body can come together unless the head comes together, too,&uot;&160;he said.

Serving on the school board in addition to working as a Natchez mail carrier and a pastor is a tall order, Riley admitted, but he said he knows he can handle the job. &uot;God wouldn’t put me in this position if He didn’t believe I could handle it,&uot;&160;he said with a smile.