LAFAYETTE, La. — Following the Lafayette Parish School Board's decision to close Ovey Comeaux High School, some students say they are searching for answers about what comes next.
The board voted 5-4 Thursday evening to close the school after the 2025-26 academic year, ending a chapter for a campus that has served the community for roughly six decades.
Among those affected is rising senior Emma Faul, who learned she will finish her high school career at Lafayette High School beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
"I'm still disappointed that I won't be able to graduate from the high school that I've been attending for 3 years… but at least I'm prepared for it now," Faul said.
Faul said students have received limited information about the transition process.
On Friday, Faul received a letter from the Lafayette Parish School System informing families that students would be rezoned beginning with the 2026-27 school year. The letter stated that information regarding bus assignments would be distributed later this summer.
"We've been able to schedule our classes and we have had a campus tour. So far, those are the only two things that we've been provided to my knowledge," she said.
Faul said she believes more details are needed to help students and families prepare for the transition.
"From what I did see, I don't think there was much information about the next steps that they're taking to help people with the transition. It was more so just, 'Hey, Comeaux's closing,'" she said.
Under the district's rezoning plan, 269 Comeaux students are expected to attend Lafayette High School. While Faul said she has felt welcomed during visits to the campus, she expressed concerns about whether receiving schools are prepared to accommodate the additional students.
"They were, like, running out of food, the halls were too crowded, as I've been told from people who did go there last year and people who came back to Comeaux from Lafayette," she said.
The Lafayette Parish School System was contacted for comment Friday, but district officials said the central office was closed.
Although Faul said she has come to terms with the closure, she remains critical of how the process unfolded.
"It's very convenient that they did the re-vote at a time a lot of people would be out of state, out of country, busy with family and everything. Also, that the day after they do the vote, they're not in office," she said.
The vote marks the third attempt by the Lafayette Parish School Board to close Comeaux High School since 2024 and the first to receive enough support to pass.
