BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Alliance for Students Action is hosting a candidate forum connecting candidates for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board with the community. 

Organizers say that the event aims to allow community members to meet the candidates, hear directly about their priorities for East Baton Rouge Parish public schools and ask questions about the issues facing students, families, educators and schools.

All candidates running in contested races for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board have been invited to participate.

"Education leaders have the power to keep Baton Rouge moving forward by focusing on effective policies and making every decision with the best interests of children at the center," Adonica Pelichet Duggan, CEO of Baton Rouge Alliance for Students Action, said. "Strong leadership is what moved the district forward over the last four years, but with nearly 15,000 children still enrolled in D- and F-rated schools, there is so much more left to do."

The event is on Oct. 7 at the Lane Grigsby Conference Center at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry on Main Street. The evening will start with a networking and meet-and-greet opportunity from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by a forum discussion and candidate Q&A from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Community members can reserve a ticket for the event here.