Lafayette Parish long-range planning committee elects chair, narrows facilities list and adds Paulborough to replacement candidates

The Lafayette Parish Long Range Planning Committee elected Chad Desormo as chair and voted to update its committed-sites list on March 12, removing three projects already in progress and adding Paulborough Middle School to the list of sites considered for replacement.

Committee members and staff spent the bulk of the meeting reviewing the district’s progress removing portable classrooms and discussing options for replacing them with permanent wings. Robert Gautreaux, a facilities staff member, said the district has “completely eliminated Como High portables” and is auctioning others, but noted schools that still use portables must have seats found before buildings can be removed. Gautreaux described lower-cost wing options he has priced, saying a 14-classroom wing could be built for about $5,000,000 (roughly $350 per square foot) using simpler metal construction veneered in brick or CMU.

Gautreaux also outlined disposal costs: demolishing an unused portable runs about $10,000–$12,000 each. He said some portables go unsold at auction or are purchased by buyers who cannot legally reuse them, forcing the district to pay demolition costs. “If you do 20 at $12,000 apiece, you’re a quarter of a million dollars just in getting rid of the building,” he said.

Operations staff provided counts and…