Discussion continues on high school for Lafayette Parish

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - Talks continue about the possibility of building a new public high school in Lafayette Parish.

The Advertiser reports (https://bit.ly/1E7MHxC) the school board’s facilities and finance committees will have a joint meeting Monday to talk about the specifics.

“I believe it’s going to be a little more than getting the conversation started. This is moving from baby steps to big boy steps,” said board member Jeremy Hidalgo, who is on the facilities committee.

Hidalgo said he thinks Monday’s discussion will include details such as where to put a new high school, what size it should be and how to pay for it.

“I think it will also be about what can be left out,” he continued. “We probably don’t have funding for an all-out high school, so we’ve got to decide what we might not include.”

Based on previous discussions, one of the most likely spots for a new high school might be somewhere in the Broussard or Youngsville area, which has seen huge growth in recent years. Only one Lafayette Parish School System high school - Comeaux High - serves that area. The school has an enrollment of nearly 1,900 students.

Earlier Thursday, Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter emphasized that residents have told him about the need for a new high school there. The school system recently invested about $16 million for expansions at Youngsville Middle and Green T. Lindon Elementary, which Ritter said can help accommodate the growth, at least in the short-term.

“I think the focus is where the kids will go to high school. That’s the first concern,” Ritter said. “People know there is not one in Youngsville.”

___

Information from: The Advertiser, https://www.theadvertiser.com