THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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T h u r s d ay, F e b r u a ry 20, 2025
LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Possible layoffs, magnet changes on the agenda
$2.00X
Lewis removed as PSC vice chair
Move comes after coarse criticism of Gov. Jeff Landry BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer
The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday removed commissioner Davante Lewis as its vice chairman after he called Gov. Jeff Landry an “a**hole” on social media. On a 3-2 vote, the commission chose to replace Lewis with Commissioner Eric Skrmetta in that role on the board. The vote followed public comment from a line of people arguing the move violated Lewis’ right Lewis to free speech. Sharon White, a retired state employee from Ascension Parish, said she was “just in disbelief at this point that you’re willing to remove an official because of their freedom of speech.” “To me, to be honest with you, this is straight-up racism,” she said. Lewis is the commission’s only Black member. On the social media app X, Lewis responded last week to a post from Landry’s account showing a picture of Rachel Levine, who was assistant secretary of health in the Biden administration, next
ä See LEWIS, page 4A
The Lafayette Parish school district is facing a $38 million budget shortfall.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Leaders to weigh issues related to district’s finances BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
The Lafayette Parish School Board has a packed February agenda that includes deciding whether to allow the superintendent to implement layoffs, removing the JROTC program from Acadiana High and making changes to magnet academy procedures. The board meets Thursday to vote on actions relating to the district’s finances, staffing, facilities and policies. Many of the items the board will consider — possible layoffs, staff reorganization — relate to the district’s finances. The board can vote to take action on all the items at once or pull specific items for individual votes. The public will have a chance to comment on whether they agree with the recommended staff action. Declining enrollment, rising insurance costs, the end of federal aid and students choosing charter schools have all played a part in a creating a $38 million budget shortfall at the district. The School Board considered a proposal from a hired strategic planner that would have seen several
FILE PHOTO
The Lafayette Parish School Board will vote Thursday on whether to allow Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr. to implement a reduction in force ‘if necessary.’ schools closed or consolidated. If the board had accepted all of the recommendations, it could have saved about $4 million in the first year and $8 million annually after four years, the planner said. Instead the board voted against most of the recommendations and its annual cost savings will be about $500,000. The next day, Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr. announced
a hiring freeze. He told The Current one way to cut costs is layoffs, starting with uncertified teachers. The board will vote Thursday night whether to allow Touchet to implement a reduction in force “if necessary.” It also will vote on changes to some jobs, including qualifications and descriptions. The changes, if approved, would create an annual net savings of $1.5 million, according to a note on the board agenda. The board also will vote whether to accept funding for two of its schools. The Pugh Family Foundation and other unnamed community philanthropic partners are donating $1.9 million to roll out the Accelerating Campus Excellence model at Alice Boucher Elementary. The model has shown early academic success at J.W. Faulk and Dr. Raphael Baranco elementary schools. State legislators also set aside $83,000 for Northside High School, though did not specify for what that money may be used. District staff is asking the board to vote to discontinue the Army ROTC program at Acadiana High
ä See AGENDA, page 4A
Some Trump policies creating uncertainty for Louisiana CEOs Business leaders remain largely supportive of president BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
In his first month in office, President Donald Trump has enacted a series of executive orders aimed at fundamentally changing some of the nation’s foreign, domestic and economic policies. Business leaders in Louisiana, a deep red state that Trump carried with 60% of the vote, say the changes have created a sense of uncertainty, making it hard to predict what the world will look like in six weeks, let alone six years. In more than a dozen interviews over the past week, CEOs and executives at many of the state’s largest companies and financial institutions said that they expect some investments to be delayed and are concerned about the potential for scuttled projects. But they largely remain supportive of the new administration.
ä See POLICIES, page 5A
Assaults drop significantly at Louisiana youth detention centers BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Louisiana’s state-run youth detention centers have reported significant decreases in assaults, something officials attribute to a new detention facility for particularly at-risk youth and enhanced therapeutic approaches in the juvenile prison system. In the juvenile justice system, a
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therapeutic model focuses on rehabilitation over punishment. Overall, between 2023 and 2024, the system saw a 41% decrease in youth-on-staff assaults and threats of assault, from 249 to 145, officials reported during a January meeting of the Senate Women and Children’s Committee. Meanwhile, there was a 20% decrease in youth-on-youth assaults and threats thereof, from 1,046 to
831. The news comes after a difficult couple of years in which escapes and prison brawls frequently made headlines. The statistics, which do not reflect youth assaults that take place in local jails, are based on code of conduct data, Deron Patin, deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Juvenile Justice, told legislators. When youth violate the system’s
code of conduct, the state keeps a record of it, he added. The data does not distinguish between actual assaults and threats of assault. Officials said that opening a longanticipated new facility, the Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe, in May was a driving force behind the change. It has far better security than the older campus there, according to the OJJ. The facility has 72 beds and
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individual rooms for youths, and officials have long said that opening it would lower violence in the prison system by holding teens who were at the highest risk of committing assault. There is a second location of the Swanson Center, in Columbia, which also houses youth in secure care.
ä See ASSAULTS, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 235