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Board attorney Bob Hammonds, left, advises Superintendent Francis Touchet during a public meeting held by the Lafayette Parish School Board to discuss the potential closure of Comeaux High School on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at board offices in Lafayette.

 STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE

The District Attorney’s Office in Lafayette has opined that the Lafayette Parish School Board did not violate the h Open Meetings Law when it failed to allow public comment on two substitute motions on the repurposing of Comeaux High School.

Former School Board member and state legislator Rickey Hardy filed a complaint with the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office following a June 11 School Board meeting where the board voted to close Comeaux High School and use it for a career center.

Board member Amy Trahan at the June 11 meeting offered two substitute motions, both of which failed, but board leadership on advice from the board’s attorney did not allow public comment on the substitute motions. The board previously allowed public comment on closing Comeaux High.

Hardy maintained that the board also is required to allow comment on each substitute motion.

District Attorney Don Landry, in reponse to Hardy’s complaint, wrote, “The substitute motions presented during the June 11 meeting concerned the same agenda item that had already been publicly noticed and opened for comment. We therefore do not conclude that the substitute motions constituted separate agenda items requiring an additional period of public comment before each vote.”

Landry added that the authority of the District Attorney’s Office is limited to enforcement of the h Open Meetings Law. Based on the facts and evidence presented, he added, there in insufficient legal basis to institute litigation to invalidate the board’s actions.

Hardy disagreed with the opinion and with the board’s actions.

In a written statement, Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr. said, “The School Board works closely with its legal counsel throughout the decision-making process to ensure its actions are taken in good faith and in accordance with the law.”

Touchet added that the board and system administration trust the legal guidance provided.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

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