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Lafayette Parish superintendent outlines millage renewal, teacher pay boosts and school projects
Summary
Francis Touchette, superintendent of Lafayette Parish schools, told the Broussard City Council the district will ask voters to renew a 7.7-mill operational property tax on Oct. 11, will start Katharine Drexel as a pre-K site Aug. 7 and has raised starting teacher pay to $50,000 with additional raises for classroom teachers.
Francis Touchette, superintendent of the Lafayette Parish school system, updated the City of Broussard Council on July 22 on a range of initiatives including a special-election millage renewal, staffing and schedule changes, and facility investments. The district will ask voters to renew a 7.7-mill operational property tax in a special election Saturday, Oct. 11, Touchette said.
Touchette said the millage is a renewal, not a new tax, and that the district will present information to employees and the public ahead of the vote. “This is something that has been for 50 years,” he said.
The superintendent said the district has increased the starting teacher salary to $50,000 and that teachers hired this year will receive pay increases of roughly $6,000–$7,000 compared with prior levels. He described a new performance-linked pay element: “They move kids, they get paid more money. And we're gonna measure that and what happens as far as student achievement,” Touchette said.
Touchette outlined operational changes intended to reduce afternoon traffic risks. The district will adjust bell schedules so elementary schools start at 8:10 a.m.; the new sequencing aims to ensure all student transportation is off the road by 5:00 p.m. “Every single kid will be off the road as far as transportation by 05:00 in Lafayette Parish,” he said, citing a history of afternoon vehicle accidents involving school routes.
On early childhood, Touchette said Katharine Drexel will operate as a dedicated pre-K site beginning Aug. 7 with about 16 classrooms, each sized for up to roughly 20 students and staffed by a teacher and paraprofessional. “We're gonna be a pre-k school… it's gonna be 1 of the true pre k schools to where teachers are focusing on those developmental skills,” he said.
Touchette described capital projects and recent bond work, saying the district’s bond rating is AA+ and noting more than $17 million invested in Southside High School improvements, including the stadium, press box, concession and restroom work and a field house. He said three additional schools will be scheduled for renovations, and cited upgrades at Broussard Middle (walkways and sound system), and cafeteria work at Comeaux High (transcript spelling: Como High).
Touchette also invited Broussard officials to district events: the superintendent’s annual gumbo cook-off fundraiser Oct. 17, which he said raised more than $100,000 in a previous year, and said he will return to the council for midyear and year-end updates.
Council members and Touchette also discussed a proposed sidewalk project serving BU Elementary from Marto Road and Fairfield Road. Touchette asked Council member Grant to follow up: “If Grant can reach out to me… Funding is not gonna be a problem,” Touchette said; he added the district will bring the project back for further coordination.
The presentation was informational; no formal council vote or ordinance was recorded on the items Touchette described.
