This story is part of The Current’s ongoing investigation into construction projects at the Lafayette Parish School System. This in-depth coverage was prompted by violations of public bid law uncovered by the system’s auditors, revealing concerns about procurement practices and oversight at one of the parish’s largest public entities. KATC TV3 worked with The Current on this story, after neighbors reached out to both outlets about this particular situation.
Neighbors of John Young, maintenance manager for the Lafayette Parish School System, have raised concerns about his ties to former employer and LPSS vendor Bosco Oilfield Services, stemming from his use of his LPSS truck and Bosco equipment.
Young is the school official who called in Bosco, a company not licensed for construction work, to perform drainage pipe repairs at Charles Burke Elementary last year. The Current’s reporting on Bosco’s work at Charles Burke led to a criminal probe into alleged forgeries of local contractors’ quotes for that project.
Bosco Hulin, the owner of the oilfield service company, has since been charged by the state contractor licensing board for doing $124,000 in school construction work without a license.
A Bosco-labeled box trailer attached to Young’s LPSS truck for months and parked in the driveway of his Vermilion Parish home overnight has led neighbors to wonder if he is still working for Bosco. A neighbor also reported seeing Young using Bosco equipment on his private property.
Different neighbors reached out to The Current and KATC-TV3 to report Young using his LPSS vehicle for personal tasks, noting at times the removal of the system decal from the truck — at least once to hook a party barge up to it. In early June, The Current photographed Young’s LPSS vehicle backed into his carport in Erath with an attached flatbed holding what looked to be an old refrigerator or similar appliance. The appliance was kept overnight.
The neighbors requested anonymity from both media outlets, who collaborated for this story. “[Young] is playing with taxpayer money,” one neighbor tells The Current/KATC. “That’s a brand new truck. And he’s using it for personal use? No. It shouldn’t be that way.”
The system has a policy that guides the use of vehicles it issues to employees, and state law spells out requirements for how those vehicles must be identified, including for decals to be attached at all times.
LPSS officials brushed off concerns to The Current/KATC, and declined to answer questions about any special permissions Young may have been granted that would explain what neighbors have witnessed.
Since stripped of its Bosco decals, the box trailer spotted by neighbors was relocated to Bosco’s yard in Maurice soon after the media outlets made inquiries to school officials.
The school system says there is a simple answer to neighbors’ concerns.
“LPSS hired Bosco to help move supplies, furniture, and other important items at three schools,” system spokeswoman Tracy Wirtz wrote in an email response. “This work needs to be done before the new school year starts, and there’s only about two months to get it all finished. Because of the size and urgency of the job, LPSS doesn’t have enough staff or equipment to handle everything on its own.”
Wirtz did not directly address whether Young had permission to bring the trailer to his Erath home on a regular basis. The school system’s policy leaves those decisions to the superintendent or his designee.
“In some cases, LPSS employees may use district vehicles to pull trailers or run Bosco’s equipment,” Wirtz added. “This helps make sure the job gets done safely and on time so the schools are ready when students return.”
In early June, The Current photographed Young’s LPSS-issued vehicle backed into his carport with an attached flatbed holding what looked to be an old refrigerator or similar appliance. The appliance was kept overnight before being unloaded at the home.
As The Current reported in May, the bulk of the work the oilfield service company gets from LPSS is a $2,685 daily rate for “campus cleanup” at various schools and removing items from the old Lafayette High during construction of the new school. One January 2025 record estimated that 18 days of cleanup at Lafayette High would be needed for a total cost of $48,330.
Records obtained from LPSS show that some of Bosco’s estimates for that work and other jobs were directed to Young’s attention, and Young’s approval is noted on a number of Bosco’s invoices and maintenance purchase orders.
None of the paperwork for the Bosco jobs includes details — for example, the number of Bosco employees working each day.
John Young applied to work at LPSS in April 2024, expressing an interest in three open positions. He was hired as maintenance manager on April 14 and is making $81,229 a year, the system confirms. He was previously employed by Bosco, his application confirms.
According to Robert Gautreaux, Young’s boss until earlier this month, it was Young who called Bosco in to do the work at Charles Burke Elementary. The other two quotes for that drainage pipe repair job in school system records were found to be forgeries by the state licensing board.
The licensing board’s findings sparked a criminal investigation by the Lafayette Police Department that appears to be accelerating, as multiple sources told The Current this week that they had been contacted by LPD and expect to be interviewed soon. Gautreaux was initially placed on leave, sources told The Current, amid the investigation but has since been transferred to his old agriscience teaching post.
Young did not return a phone call and text message.
Superintendent Francis Touchet insists Young is not doing any work for Bosco Oilfield Services. “John Young is an employee of ours, and cannot, in any which way, be involved with anything else other than the Lafayette school system,” Touchet told The Current in early June. “I know for certain he’s not doing that.”
