YOUNGSVILLE, La. — Southside High School opened its doors Thursday evening to students from Ovey Comeaux High School, who will soon join the campus as part of a sweeping rezoning by the Lafayette Parish School System.
The welcome event, the second in a series held this week, included campus tours, meet-and-greet opportunities with staff and students, and a first look at Southside’s facilities and school life. The transition comes after the school board voted 5-2 last Thursday to close Comeaux High School at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
Once the plan is enacted, 221 students will move to Acadiana High, 269 to Lafayette High, and 208 to Southside High. Some Comeaux students and families have expressed concern about enrollment numbers at Southside, which had 1,816 students as of February 2026 — nearly three times Comeaux’s current population of 670, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.
The pending closure has stirred considerable community response. Students, alumni, and supporters staged protests outside Comeaux and in front of the LPSS district office following the board’s decision, emphasizing the school’s role as a community hub and source of identity.
School officials say the welcome events are designed to ease the transition and help incoming students feel at home before the move. However, media requests to cover Thursday’s event were denied by LPSS, which did not permit news crews on campus.
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