EVANGELINE PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- The 13th Judicial District Court District Attorney is filing suit against an Evangeline Parish school board member. The suit could lead to District 8 School Board Member Wanda Skinner vacating her seat.

It comes after a handful of voters accused Skinner of not living at her registered Ville Platte home.

News 10 spoke with Skinner and her family moments after she was served a court order at the school board meeting Wednesday evening.

Skinner said she's been on the school board since 1999, serving seven terms consecutively for District 8. She and her family said they don't understand why, two years into her last term, she's facing these accusations about where she resides and now a lawsuit.

Skinner sat in the board meeting Wednesday, holding onto the papers she was served by the District Attorney's Office.

"It's allegedly a political issue, and it's a sad day. It really is," Skinner's sister, Barbara Tezeno, said.

The papers from the DA say Skinner must appear in court to face allegations from some voters that she doesn't live at her registered home in Ville Platte.

Skinner said the allegations are untrue, and she and her family have questions about the DA's investigation.

"I've never heard of the district attorney filing a suit against a citizen for a civil matter as such," Tezeno said. "When I think about all the crimes being committed in the city of Ville Platte, I would think there are bigger fish to fry."

Skinner's family is standing behind her, saying she has done nothing criminal.

"If Wanda had violated the law, as a sister, I would be the first one to say, 'You have done wrong. You have done something illegally, and therefore you have to suffer the consequences.' But according to the law, she has done nothing wrong," Tezeno said.

Tezeno questions the legality of the court summons, claiming a statute says the time has expired to have Skinner's school board seat vacated.

"So, it disturbs me tremendously that the district attorney has taken that position because this is an office that has taken an oath to uphold the law," Tezeno added. "So, if the law is that the time has expired, then why are we wasting the taxpayer's dollar?"

News 10 reached out to the DA's office but has not yet heard back.

Wanda Skinner will appear in court on Jan. 12, 2025.

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