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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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M o n d ay, J u ly 28, 2025
Role close to Gonzales mayor prompts questions
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Schools face new special ed policies Louisiana law requires cameras in classrooms, updated restraint rules
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO
Staff writer
Mayor Tim Riley, left, talks with Wade Petite in the Gonzales city offices on Thursday.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Debate centers on consultant’s official status in administration BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT
Staff writer
He helps manage day-to-day functions at Gonzales City Hall. He’s listed as an hourly city employee, with a budgeted yearly income of around $94,000. He drives municipal vehicles. His job also doesn’t officially exist, depending on who you ask. Wade Petite, a lawyer turned campaign consultant who founded a website dedicated to Ascension Parish politics, has courted close political partnerships and controversies for more than a decade. Now, during Mayor Tim Riley’s first term in office, he’s acting in the disputed role of Gonzales chief of staff. The position has never previously existed in the city government and hasn’t been approved of by the City Council. A Gonzales ordinance states that creating, abolishing or reallocating a filled or vacant position is at the council’s discretion. Petite and Riley view that ordi-
Homebuilder challenges ruling on suit
Judge says contracts couple signed not enforceable BY MATT BRUCE When the chief judge of East Baton Rouge Parish’s district court last week rejected the arbitration contract a Youngsville couple signed before buying their home from residential developer D.R. Horton, it was the first pivotal domino in a series of potential developments for a lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. The July 22 ruling made by 19th Judicial District Judge Donald Johnson preserves plaintiffs West and Alicia Dixon’s right to pursue their lawsuit against D.R. Horton in state
ä See BUILDER, page 4A
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WADE PETITE, Gonzales chief of staff nance as an unconstitutional infringement on the Lawrason Act, a state law that dictates mayoral powers. In a letter sent to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Riley asked if he had the power to create the chief of staff position and if the existing ordinance is an infringement on the mayor’s power. The two have also said they consulted the city’s attorneys in all the actions taken. And regardless of the outcome, Petite said he’ll work for Riley and the city. “There’s a position for me in the
Riley administration, no matter what, whatever it is,” he said. “And whatever that title is, don’t get hung up on the title because I’m going to be doing the same thing I do for the mayor every day.” However, the city code states that violations of its ordinances are punishable with a fine of up to $500, an imprisonment of up to 60 days, or both. It classifies each day with a violation as a separate offense. Some council members, including Terri Lambert, point to these penalties when talking about Petite’s unappointed position. “This is against the law,” she said. Lambert filed an objection to Riley’s position with the Attorney General’s Office, and both sides are awaiting a response. “Wade is just out of control,” she added. “He is out of control.” Born and raised in the city of Gonzales, Petite readily admits he’s a controversial figure.
ä See PETITE, page 5A
ä See SCHOOLS, page 4A
Nine schools in EBR to get new principals Closures lead to several moves BY CHARLES LUSSIER
Staff writer
Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 97 LOW 75
“There’s a position for me in the Riley administration, no matter what, whatever it is. And whatever that title is, don’t get hung up on the title because I’m going to be doing the same thing I do for the mayor every day.”
Starting this year, Louisiana school districts must install cameras in all special-education classrooms and make changes to their special education policies, under a new state law that puts additional safeguards in place for students with disabilities. Under Act 479, which the Legislature passed this year, schools must place “We are at least one camera in every special-education classroom making every by February. effort to move The law also puts new reforward with strictions on the practice of planning and physically restraining stupreparation dents with disabilities or putting them in separate “secluto meet the sion” rooms. For example, a deadline school nurse or other staffer responsibly must visit any student who and is secluded or restrained and efficiently. ” school personnel must file detailed incident reports. Those TAyLOR GAST, changes take effect Dec. 1, though districts have until East Baton Rouge Parish schools May to submit updated polispokesperson cies to the state. The law also authorizes the state education department to develop a free “crisis intervention” training program for school staffers on how to properly restrain students during emergencies. The training is expected to roll out this fall. The changes come after a 2024 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found that, despite warnings from advocates and the federal government that using seclusion and restraint in schools can endanger students and potentially violate their rights, the state Education Department had failed to properly monitor how public schools use the practices. With the first day of school just weeks away, districts “should be updating their policies, engaging with stakeholders and working with contractors, if they don’t already have one, about installing the cameras to ensure they meet the deadline,” said Ashley McReynolds, program director for Arc of Louisiana, a nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities. Some school systems are ahead of the curve.
East Baton Rouge Parish schools Superintendent LaMont Cole has moved a number of principals this summer, resulting in nine schools starting the school year with new leaders. Cole also continues to make changes at the Central Office, including hiring two top administrators for newly created positions. STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON And he’s still trying to fill four more high-level administrative East Baton Rouge Parish schools Superintendent posts, two of them also new posiLaMont Cole has put nine principals at new schools tions. Several of the principal moves and continues to make changes at the Central Office.
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were prompted by a districtwide realignment plan championed by Cole that closed nine schools in May. Four of the affected principals have been reassigned to lead other schools, and three have moved to administrative jobs. Two more closed schools, both charter schools, have reopened with new names, management and leadership. The largest of the district schools with new leaders is Woodlawn Middle, with more than 800 students, while the smallest is Delmont Pre-K Center, with just 130 students. Employees return from summer break Aug. 4 and students return Aug. 7. Cole released a public statement
ä See PRINCIPALS, page 5A
101ST yEAR, NO. 28