Judge Shuts Down LPSS’s Next Move on Comeaux High School With a Letter
LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — The Lafayette Parish School Board’s latest attempt to move forward on Comeaux High School ran into a wall Friday, and the wall had a signature on it.
Hours before LPSS canceled a public hearing it had set for April 23, 15th Judicial District Court Judge Valerie Gotch-Garrett sent the school system a written reminder: any further action on Ovey Comeaux High School is a direct violation of her preliminary injunction.
“Judge Garrett would also like you all to be reminded that any future hearings in regard to Ovey Comeaux shall be a direct violation of the Order issued on Monday, April 13,” the message from the judge’s staff attorney stated.
LPSS canceled the hearing shortly after 5 p.m. Friday.
How the School System Got Here
The events leading up to Friday’s cancellation moved fast.
On April 13, Judge Gotch-Garrett issued a preliminary injunction after finding the Lafayette Parish School Board had not followed its own procedures before voting 5-2 on March 12 to close Comeaux High at the end of the current school year. The judge told both parties the district was “prohibited from moving on anything related to Comeaux” and set a trial for April 29.
Two days later, on April 15, the board held a special meeting and unanimously voted to rescind the March 12 closure decision, a full reversal of the same 5-2 vote that had put the school on the chopping block.
The day after that, LPSS announced a public hearing for April 23, describing it as the procedural step its own closure policy requires before any vote can take place. The board’s attorney called the situation fluid, saying the hearing was one of the “next tentative steps” in the process.
Then came Friday’s letter.
What the Injunction Actually Says
The preliminary injunction, signed April 17 by Judge Gotch-Garrett and filed in Lafayette Parish, doesn’t leave much room for interpretation. It prohibits the school board from making “any movement” as it relates to the closure of Ovey Comeaux High School. The court also waived the security bond typically required of plaintiffs in injunction cases, with the judge describing the matter as a community issue and telling the board it needed to follow its own rules.
During the April 13 hearing, Gotch-Garrett put it plainly: “The School Board is prohibited from moving on anything as it related to these schools until we have a full hearing. They are stopped at this point.”
Because neither party submitted a proposed judgment after that hearing, the judge filed her own order, saying she wanted “a clear record.”
The injunction covers the board’s original March 12 vote and any subsequent steps toward closure. That scope is what the judge’s Friday letter was reinforcing. The school system had moved to schedule a new hearing within days of the order being issued.
The Case Behind the Injunction
Lafayette resident Suzanne Lajaunie filed a petition in 15th Judicial District Court on March 20, arguing the school board violated Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law and ignored its own written closure policy when it voted to shut down Comeaux.
Her petition laid out specific complaints: board members held private conversations during the March 12 meeting that the public couldn’t hear, whether they were in the room or watching online; some citizens who showed up to speak were turned away after a recess; and the board went to a vote without first holding the public hearing its own rules require.
LPSS has denied wrongdoing throughout the litigation, arguing that the rule Lajaunie cites is an administrative regulation rather than a board policy with the force of law, and that a 2024 public hearing on a prior closure proposal already satisfied the requirement.
Judge Gotch-Garrett disagreed enough to grant the injunction.
What Comes Next for Comeaux
The April 29 trial date remains on the court calendar. At that hearing, the judge will determine whether the board violated its own closure policy and whether it ran afoul of state open meetings law. A finding against the board on either count would likely void the March vote, though the board has already undone that vote on its own.
For now, Comeaux High is set to remain open when the 2026-2027 school year begins. No vote to close the school appears on any published LPSS agenda.
That hasn’t insulated the school community from disruption. Teachers and staff have been announcing positions at other schools, and receiving campuses have welcomed incoming administrators. The procedural fight goes on, and April 29 is the next date that matters.
Catch Up on the Comeaux High Closure...
- Lafayette School Board Votes to Close Comeaux High School
- The Lawsuit to Stop Comeaux High School From Closing
- School Board Unanimously Votes to Rescind Comeaux High School Closure
- Judge Halts Comeaux High Closure Ahead of April 29 Trial
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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham
