It is with great sadness the Bossier Parish School Board shares news that District 8 Representative Kenneth Wiggins, its longest serving board member, has passed away. He was 87-years-old.
Wiggins was first appointed to the board in 1995 to fill a vacant seat, then continually served the District 8 constituency for more than three decades.
Bossier Schools Superintendent Jason Rowland called Wiggins “a one-of-a-kind gentleman.”
“He was a staunch advocate for our employees and we will miss his genuine humor of rhymes that he so eloquently would provide,” Rowland said. “He was a dear friend to our school system and he will be missed.”
District 6 board member Glen Bullard shared a special friendship with Wiggins, whom he served alongside for the past 16 years.
“His passion for the faculty and staff of Bossier Schools was unparalleled,” Bullard reflected. “Mr. Wiggins’ thoughts were always with the employees. He was an advocate for anything and everything that would enhance them both professionally and financially.”
Dr. Shelly Barrett will remember Wiggins most for working tirelessly to meet the needs at Meadowview Elementary, the school where she served as principal for 10 years.
“He was so committed and gracious to us (at Meadowview), and good to the kids. I can’t remember one student assembly that Mr. Wiggins did not attend,” Barrett said. “He was dedicated to our community and instrumental in getting the first Louisiana Safe Routes to Schools federal grant for $250,000 in 2006 for Meadowview. It went toward repairing sidewalks, fencing along ditches en route to the school, and the construction of a walking track on campus. Three-fourths of students at the time walked to school. I just adored him.”
A U.S. veteran, Wiggins is most notably remembered as “The Moondog” on KTUX (98.9 FM). He was one of the original on-air radio personalities on the evening/overnight shift when the Shreveport station first went on the air in the mid-1980s. Wiggins built his local legacy for rhyming over song intros, a talent he carried over to Bossier Parish School Board meetings that often brought levity to the arduous business at hand.
Funeral services are pending at this time.