The Lafayette Parish School Board’s May agenda includes finalizing a balanced budget, a possible four-year extension of the superintendent’s contract and whether to support some Louisiana leaders’ pushback of changes to Title IX.
The board’s meeting starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday with a public hearing on the immediately followed by a board vote on whether to approve it.
Creating a balanced budget was difficult this year, LPSS Chief Financial Officer Matthew Dugas told board members during a budget workshop last month. A balanced budget was met in part by using one-time funds.
Declining enrollment, an end to federal COVID-19 relief funding, an increase in specialized staffing needs and an increase in insurance costs contributed to what he called a $38-million budget challenge.
The budget situation isn’t expected to get any easier in the coming years. The district is working to hire a strategic planner to help make decisions about where cuts can be made while still supporting students.
Objections to Title IX changes
During its regular meeting, which starts at 5 p.m., the board will “in support of litigation challenging new Title IX regulations.”
The new Title IX rule, announced last month by the U.S. Department of Education, “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.”
It lays out a series of requirements including outlining what schools should do to respond to claims of sex discrimination and prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, employees and others.
Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Montana and Idaho have filed a lawsuit against the new rules. Louisiana Attorney General it is an “illegal expansion of Title IX rules” and it would “deprive women and girls of the equal education opportunities they struggled for decades to secure, and cost states billions of dollars to implement.”
Opponents of the changes argue against expanding sex discrimination from a person’s sex assigned at birth to include a person’s gender identity, which is the gender a person identifies with regardless of their sex assigned at birth.
The resolution states the changes would “disadvantage the board by increasing its obligations, compliance costs and liability risks.” The language is almost verbatim of what other Louisiana districts, such as Acadia Parish, have stated in their opposition to the changes.
School Board President Britt Latiolais said the move was an effort to “show support of the governor, the attorney general and Superintendent (Cade) Brumley” who have all spoken against the changes.
Several school boards have joined Murrill’s lawsuit, including Acadia, Allen, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, DeSoto, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Red River, Sabine, St. Tammany, Webster and West Carroll parishes.
The Lafayette Parish School Board’s resolution did not indicate that it wished to join that lawsuit.
LGBTQ+ advocates argued the lawsuits could have dangerous effects on transgender and other LGBTQ+ youth, who are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to a .
"Gov. Landry, Attorney General Murrill and Superintendent Brumley have a callous disregard for the well-being and dignity of these vulnerable young individuals," said SarahJane Guidry, executive director of the Louisiana Forum for Equality. "They must be reminded that these are not just policies they're attacking; they're attacking human beings — our children – who deserve love, respect, and acceptance."
Superintendent’s contract
The board also will decide whether to extend Superintendent Francis Toucher Jr.’s contract, which ends Dec. 31, 2025. If approved by the board, Touchet’s contract would extend until May 8, 2028. His salary of a minimum of $235,000 would remain the same and he would be eligible for an annual performance stipend.
Those performance objectives include increasing the district performance score, increasing school performance scores of the district’s high schools, K-8 schools receiving an A or B grade from the state, no school in the district receiving an F grade, reducing the number of schools being identified as urgent intervention required and reducing the percentage of teachers scoring “ineffective” based on student performance data.
Touchet was named the permanent superintendent of LPSS in October after being the lone applicant for the job. He served as interim superintendent from July until his permanent appointment after former Superintendent Irma Trosclair resigned.
Touchet previously sought the Lafayette Parish superintendent position in 2015, but Donald Aguillard was selected for the position instead. Touchet also applied in 2016 to be the superintendent of St. Landry Parish schools, but the school board selected Patrick Jenkins.
Touchet served as the associate Lafayette Parish superintendent, focusing on district accountability and academic support. He joined the district in July 2019.
He has been an educator for more than 30 years, according to his application.
