There is a lot to be excited about with East St. John High School football, and it starts with new head coach Brandon Brown.

The work he is helping lead in conditioning and strength performance has been a wonder to follow this summer and surely foreshadows a bright future for the Wildcats.

It’s startling to think ESJH is the only River Region high school not to have appeared in a football state championship game in the last four seasons.

When you think about it, talent has never been a problem. We live in the River Parishes, where football passion practically oozes through young babies’ veins.

Yet, where buy-in and proper leadership previously lacked, Brown now steps in with the requisite approach for success.

Some of my favorite quotes from my first interview with Brown standout today:

• “A successful Wildcat program means putting successful individuals into the world. If we are doing that, the wins and loses are going to take care of themselves.”

• “We don’t just want to build a solid athletic program, but a solid school, an A school. It goes back to the graduation thing. If we are an A school, we will be an A athletic program.”

Those quotes were on my mind during the last St. John the Baptist Parish School Board meeting, when attending School Board members unanimously approved a $45,000 expenditure for weights and racks at the Wildcats fieldhouse.

School Board member Russ Wise said it concerned him that the District was spending more tax money on athletics without earmarking similar funding for musical instruments, maintenance on musical instruments or teaching of the arts.

Superintendent Kevin George stressed the District has hired numerous music teachers in the past few years.

“So far Ms. Rebecca Holmes has done an amazing job of pooling everyone together and I don’t think I have ever told her “no” for anything that may have come,” George said.

“I don’t know off hand if we are spending more on athletics or music … but if you talked to our music teachers they would tell you they feel very appreciated.”

Before ultimately voting in favor of the $45,000 proposal, Wise said music funding came from grants, whereas the athletics funding came from the taxpayer-generated general fund.

Although the arts don’t pack football stadiums on Friday nights, they clearly set the stage for essential creative learning. In fact, public school leaders, as well as their counterparts in our parish’s Catholic, private and charter institutions, should always keep in mind how active our community supports the arts, and they do so well beyond high school.

With a cast of more than 60, River Parish Community Theatre’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is presenting seven shows next month at St. Peter School in Reserve.

Also taking the stage next month with more than 40 performers is “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” for seven shows at St. John Theatre in Reserve.

Taking time to remember the active River Region Performing Arts and Cultural Center in Norco, The River Region Ballet’s beloved performances of The Nutcracker, The River Region Drama Guild and the many funding allocations of The River Region Arts & Humanities Council, you can easily see our community is just as excited about the arts as it is about sports.

What ultimately makes both institutions so important is how inclusive they are. They offer the best chances to break down separators of race, age and gender, which so often polarize us. The arts bring us together through common pursuits and teamwork.

Both institutions deserve, equal parts, our attention and support.

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.