VIDALIA — Running for school board has been a confusing issue for candidate Cyndie Dillon, and five phone calls to important offices doesn’t make the issue any less murky.

As Dillon says, let’s start at the beginning.

Dillon, a candidate in District 3, Place B, said she went to the Clerk of Courts office months ago to fill out her qualification papers.

“The day I qualified, the lady said, ‘Where do you live.’ I said, ‘District 3,” Dillon said.

Dillon told the clerk that she was unsure whether she lived in Place A or Place B, pointing to her own personal move and a realignment within the district.

“She said she’d look it up, and she did, and she said 3-B. She filled out the form on the computer and it automatically submits it to the state.

“I was given the wrong information.”

Dillon, who lives at 1220 Palm St., does not live in District 3 Place B. She lives in District 3 Place A.

But it wasn’t until Sept. 18 that the issue was brought to Dillon’s attention.

She was out campaigning when Police Juror Randy Temple approached her and pointed out the discrepancy, she said.

“It really upset me so bad at first,” Dillon said. “I didn’t know there was anything going on. I think someone should have contacted me.”

Since learning of the issue, Dillon has talked with the Concordia Parish Clerk of Courts’ Office, the Office of the Registrar, the Secretary of State’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and with the school board attorney.

Most gave her no definitive answer, but she’s opted to take the advice that came from the attorney general.

“The AG’s office put me on hold for 15 minutes and came back and said that was the most confusing thing they had ever seen.

“He told me to continue my race, just like I was doing. It was not my error. He said he did not see a legal reason why I could not serve if elected by the people of the district.”

Every voter in District 3 will vote for a candidate in Place A and Place B.

Why the district is divided into two places is what state officials said was confusing Monday. Representatives from the Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office both said such a split district was something with which they were unfamiliar.

Concordia Parish School Board Attorney Bob Hammond, who works with multiple other school boards, agreed.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one exactly like this,” he said. “If everyone in District 3 can vote, then where is the harm (in Dillon’s situation)?”

Assistant Attorney General Bill Bryan said Dillon is well within her rights to continue campaigning in District B.

“If she was allowed to qualify and no one has challenged her, she is certainly allowed to run,” Bryan said.

Louisiana state law allows voters to challenge the qualification of any candidate within seven days of their qualification. No one challenged Dillon.

“Running is not going to be the issue,” Bryan said. “If she were to win (law) is going to require she be domiciled in that district.”

But since she does live in District 3, the issue is still unclear, Bryan said.

“If she wins, she’ll have to consult with the school board attorney and school board to find out what the requirements are to serve.”

Hammond said he is not aware of a school board policy governing a situation like this.

“Unless there is a challenge, I don’t know why she wouldn’t serve,” Hammond said. “Once elected, you are elected until someone says to the contrary.”

Two other candidates in the District 3, Place B race have been caught in the middle of the issue as well, though neither would say for certain that they would challenge Dillon’s residency if she does win. Nor did they say they would not.

Candidate James Cockerham said the issue is not one with which he is worried.

“I’m running on my abilities and what I can offer to the public,” he said. “If they should feel that she is the one, OK. It’s just not an issue one way or the other.”

Candidate Cheryl Probst said she learned of Dillon’s residency issue earlier in the race — one hour before the deadline to challenge Dillon’s qualification.

“I was told I would have to get a lawyer to file,” Probst said. “I decided I wasn’t going to do that, but I kind of wish I had now, just to clear it up.

“I do think it is a concern at this point. I hate it for her if it was done unknowingly. And if she causes a runoff or wins and then costs the taxpayers another election it’s wrong.

“It’s a mess.”

Dillon agrees.

“All I ever went in (to the election) for was to serve my parish,” Dillon said. “I would have never done anything dishonest. It’s not me; it’s not my character.”

Dillon has decided to continue campaigning based on the advice from the Attorney General’s Office.

“All I can do is point to the AG’s office,” she said. “I don’t want to cause a commotion; it was an honest error on (the clerk’s) end.”

Clerk of Courts Clyde Ray Webber was unavailable for comment, and representatives from his office directed calls to Registrar Golda Ensminger.

Ensminger said the error occurred in the Clerk of Courts office.