Judge Delays Comeaux High School Lawsuit Hearing Until April 13
LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — The court fight over Comeaux High School’s closure won’t get its day in court until April 13. A judge granted a continuance on Monday after the woman who filed the lawsuit said she needed time to get an attorney up to speed on the case.
Suzanne Lajaunie, a Comeaux High parent who drafted and filed the petition herself, told 15th Judicial District Court Judge Valerie Gotch-Garrett that she hired a lawyer but he couldn’t register in time for Monday’s hearing. Gotch-Garrett granted the continuance and postponed ruling on the temporary restraining order. Both matters are now set for April 13.
Go Further: What to Know About The Lawsuit to Stop Comeaux From Closing
Lajaunie’s lawsuit, filed March 20, accuses the Lafayette Parish School System and its board of violating open meetings laws, ignoring its own school closure policies, and breaking ethics rules in how it handled the Comeaux decision.
Lajaunie’s petition makes several allegations. She says board members held private “side conversations” that may have included deliberations before the public vote, a violation of Louisiana’s open meetings law. She also points to statements from the board member who put the item on the agenda as evidence the closure had been discussed behind closed doors for some time.
She claims additional members of the public were cut off from joining the speakers’ line after a break at the meeting, that speakers weren’t allowed to ask questions, and that nearly everyone who testified opposed the closure but the board passed it anyway.
The petition also says the board skipped its own policy requiring a publicly advertised hearing before shutting down a school.
The school system’s Baton Rouge attorneys fired back with a motion to dissolve the TRO, arguing the petition has serious legal problems. Lajaunie didn’t clearly spell out what “irreparable harm” she’d personally suffer if the school closes, they say. They also argue the school system wasn’t given proper notice of the petition and that the court never explained why a hearing wasn’t held before the TRO was initially issued.
On the merits, the system’s attorneys say the board fully complied with public meetings law, no one was stopped from speaking at the board meeting, and the “policy” Lajaunie cites in her petition is actually an administrative regulation, not a law. That distinction matters: the legal relief she’s asking for may not be available if the rule she’s pointing to doesn’t carry the force of law.
What Does the School Board’s Plan Actually Do?
The school board voted 5-2 on March 12 to close Comeaux High at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Students will move to other Lafayette Parish high schools in the fall.
The Comeaux campus will be renovated to house the W.D. and Mary Baker Career Center and the E.J. Sam Accelerated School. Other schools in the district will use the athletic fields.
The school system projects the consolidation will save $2 million from the general fund, money that currently supports teacher salaries and academic programming.
What Happens Between Now and April 13?
Robert Hammonds, the school system’s attorney, didn’t hide his frustration with the delay Monday. Every day this drags out, he said, costs the district money. Construction planning on the repurposed campus is on hold, new bus routes haven’t been finalized, and experienced Comeaux teachers may start looking elsewhere if they don’t know soon whether they’ll still have jobs.
“Staff is anxious to go ahead and get started,” Hammonds told the court.
Hammonds also pointed out that the school system had stopped preparing for the transition because it thought Gotch-Garrett had already granted the TRO. She hadn’t.
Gotch-Garrett told both sides to swap affidavits and supporting documents before the April 13 hearing and get copies to her by the Thursday prior so she can review them over the weekend. She wants live testimony if possible but will accept affidavits from witnesses who can’t get time off work to come to court.
After the hearing, Lajaunie told reporters that the focus on Comeaux High misses part of the picture. The career center and accelerated school being relocated are currently in District 4, she said, a part of Lafayette she described as socioeconomically challenged. Moving those programs out of the area takes resources away from a community that needs them.
The next hearing is set for 1 p.m. April 13 in the 15th Judicial District Court.
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