Wednesday night's meeting was a pendulum swing: the vote to hire a special attorney to investigate allegations against Cooper overshadowed his positive evaluation.
Board members had stripped funding for Thad Welch, Cooper's special assistant, following a dispute over whether his lack of a high school diploma disqualified him for the job.
In a tense executive session that featured a heated back-and-forth between district 6 board member Greg Awbrey and district 7 board member Mark Cockerham, Awbrey accused Cooper of violating school board policy and state law when he hired Welch.
The WillGraduate program has been implemented in more than a dozen school districts throughout Louisiana, Cooper says, but Lafayette will be the largest state district to do so.
A record number of schools in Louisiana earned an "A" this year, according to school report cards released Monday by the Louisiana Department of Education.
The Lafayette Parish School Board is under new leadership. Shelton Cobb was elected as the new president after his nomination was seconded unanimously.
The Lafayette Parish School Board holds its first meeting of the New Year tonight. The nine-member panel is expected to select a new board president and vice president.