LAFAYETTE, La. — On Thursday, Lafayette Parish School System Superintendent Francis Touchet delivered the 2025 State of the District Address in Lafayette High School’s new auditorium, providing the community with a progress report on the school system.
“I know we’ve had a lot of changes over the last couple of years, and there are a lot of exciting things, I think, on the horizon for Lafayette Parish School System,” one LPSS parent said.
The address comes at a pivotal time for the district, which has faced recent controversy following the arrest of the Lafayette Parish School System’s former director of construction, facilities and maintenance, Robert Gautreaux, in addition to ongoing demands for increased school development in North Lafayette.
When asked if he would be addressing these challenges during his speech, Touchet said the district has been working to improve infrastructure — a central theme in his remarks.
“I will address all of the different things that I feel are pertinent to this conversation,” Touchet said. “The one thing that I will say is that this board has been very forthcoming and that they want to continue to be progressive, and to make sure that we are making changes as far as bettering our schools around infrastructure.”
Touchet emphasized the potential of a new school on the northside, citing the importance of delivering on promises for upgraded facilities.
“Every kid deserves an opportunity to go into a facility that is just as nice as it is anywhere else. And we need to make sure that we deliver. No more talking, we need to deliver. We need to make sure that this happens,” he said.
The superintendent also introduced a new promotional campaign, “We Choose LPSS,” designed to highlight the district’s achievements and its vision for the future.
“Yes, we may not have done what we needed to in the past, but we are moving toward what we need to do as far as the future’s concerned,” Touchet said.
While he said that funding has been secured for a new school in North Lafayette, Touchet noted that the district is still considering what the final model for the campus will be. He assured families that the coming changes would improve educational opportunities for students across the parish.
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