The Current

Lafayette’s school board is set to hold a public hearing Tuesday to try — yet again — to close Comeaux High School, reopening a contentious issue marked by a legal challenge, rescinded vote and prolonged uncertainty.

The latest turn comes just weeks after Superintendent Francis Touchet and board members signaled that the school would remain open this fall, even as Touchet simultaneously moved forward with plans to further shrink Comeaux’s student population.

“I received a call from Mr. Touchet this morning stating that at this point, we are open next year,” a Comeaux High administrator wrote in a May 11 email obtained by The Current.
In a lawsuit, Comeaux parents alleged the board failed to follow state open meetings law and its own policy requiring a public hearing in its March 12 vote to close the school. As the lawsuit moved through the court system, delaying implementation of the plan to close, the board met in April to rescind its decision to shutter the school and repurpose it as a career center — an action the Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled rendered the lawsuit moot.

In dragging out the corrective action, however, the board is now faced with a legal bill to the tune of $45,000 for the plaintiffs’ attorneys, court costs and expenses. That’s in addition to tens of thousands of dollars it incurred defending the suit.

The board’s shifting decisions, abrupt special meetings and failure to follow the rules has sown confusion for students, families and staff.

The hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday at the system office, 202 Rue Iberville.

thecurrentla.com/2026/school-board-revives-comeaux-closure-effort/

Sitting on the sunny patio of Caffe Cottage on St. Mary Boulevard, ready to dig into quesadillas, beignet fries, wings and red velvet cake, the Foodiez of the Flatz are already talking about their next meal. A new hibachi rice burrito recipe they want to try out? A wine and wings dinner party?

There had always been cookouts, festivals and school fundraisers in the lives of Crista Prejean, her husband Joseph “Joe” Prejean, his sister Kearon Prejean and best friend Brianna Francis. But since they started their food review channel Foodiez of Tha Flatz, food has taken center stage.

“We’re already eating, so let’s review the food,” Kearon Prejean says of their idea to start a food review channel on social media that has grown to over 17,000 followers on TikTok and over 6,000 on Instagram. “I feel like that would be a way for y’all to hang out with us,” adds Crista.

Read more at thecurrentla.com/2026/the-foodiez-of-tha-flatz-go-to-lunch/

When Paula Prejean looked at her February utility bill, she was in shock. The water bill was roughly six times higher than during the same period last year, with no clear explanation why.

“I was looking at $500 just to keep the lights on,” she said.
Both her water and wastewater usage appeared to have gone through the roof.

Prejean reached out to Lafayette Utilities System multiple times, suspecting there might be something wrong with the meter.

After LUS pulled the meter for testing and installed a temporary one, her bills went back to normal. But the utility maintains there was no issue with the meter, which tallied use of 30,000 gallons of water in February alone. Prejean’s typical bills meter about 4,000 gallons of water used per month.
Prejean says she still owes LUS $800, on top of what she has already paid to restore her service.

Several other residents on Moss Street reported similar billing problems to KATC in late April, asking LUS to address their high water bills. Those residents told both The Current and KATC that they saw their bills skyrocket after LUS switched their service from a temporary supply through a nearby fire hydrant to repaired lines monitored by a new meter. The news story came after landlord Guy Ranzino and his business partner posted about the issue on Facebook. Prejean is one of Ranzino’s tenants.

LUS stood firm then that there isn’t anything wrong with its meters.

“Prior to installation, the meters go through rigorous testing to ensure quality,” LUS Director Jeff Stewart tells The Current in an email. “[Over measurement] is an extremely rare occurrence.”

Instead, Stewart posits that high water usage, leaks, running toilets or other changes in utility usage are behind the extremely high charges, not improperly programmed meters.

Read more at thecurrentla.com/2026/a-northside-resident-says-lus-overcharged-her-now-she-fears-losing-her-home/

Gov. Jeff Landry wants to use $150 million normally dedicated to K-12 school operations to replace a $2,000 stipend public school teachers were expected to lose this coming year, according to four Louisiana lawmakers familiar with the plan.

The governor has proposed taking money normally distributed to public school districts through a funding formula called the Minimum Foundation Program and using it for teacher compensation.

The legislators who spoke about the governor’s proposition did not want to be named because they did not have permission to talk about it publicly. They included two senators and two state representatives, three of them Republicans and one Democrat.

The plan will require Landry to issue an executive order after the Louisiana Legislature’s session has finished June 1. Two-thirds of state lawmakers in each chamber also have to approve moving the money, with a vote taking place by mail-in ballot.

Read more at thecurrentla.com/2026/landry-may-look-to-school-funds-to-cover-teacher-pay/

Unfortunately, a large corporation now wants to take away the land that I — and many others — hold so dearly. I do not know where I would be today without it. While other kids may spend their time getting into trouble, I am in the marsh with the people I care about. Pecan Island is not just where I hunt — it is part of who I am. Louisiana is known as the “Sportsman’s Paradise,” but you cannot have a “Sportsman’s Paradise” without sportsmen. It is not called the “Rocket Ship Paradise” for a reason. Generations of sportsmen have lived on and hunted this land for hundreds of years. Many residents of Pecan Island rely on these marshes for their livelihoods, and without them, their way of life would suffer greatly.

With all of this in mind, I wrote to the president of Vermilion Corporation, P. R. Burke, last month, asking the company to do everything in its power to make a difference.

Like Jethro in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt — who wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln during a time of uncertainty — I hope the company and others responsible for protecting our land help preserve Louisiana in its natural state.
Gardez la Louisiane belle.

Read the full letter at thecurrentla.com/2026/letter-the-marshes-raised-me-now-they-need-us/