Bishop of Diocese of Lafayette joins community leaders to support LPSS tax
Lafayette, LA – Today, Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette joined Lafayette Parish elected officials and representatives of more than a dozen community and business organizations in support of the April 29 sales tax election.
With a backdrop of temporary buildings at Lafayette High School– the city’s flagship school that is 280% over its original design capacity – Bishop Deshotel expressed his support for this initiative to strengthen schools in our community. “Any great and noble society is defined by how it cares for the children in that community,” he stated.
The Bishop further added, “Everyone benefits when educational opportunities are available to each child belonging to that community. The individual student benefits from academic excellence in clean, inviting, and up to date school buildings and classrooms.” His statements emphasized that investments in good school facilities encourage children to learn, stay in school, and graduate, providing an educated and ready workforce to fill the business community’s pipeline.
Parish-wide elected officials including Mayor-President Joel Robideaux, Sheriff Mark Garber, Assessor Conrad Comeaux, Clerk of Court Louis Perret, and District Attorney Keith Stutes joined the Bishop in support of the ½ cent, 100% dedicated temporary sales tax that will replace 248 “temporary” classrooms across the parish and provide both Carencro Heights Elementary and Prairie Elementary with brand new schools, while Lafayette High School will receive a new 9th grade academy. Additionally, Lafayette Parish School Board (LPSB) members including President Dawn Morris, Mary Morrison, Jeremy Hidalgo, and Justin Centanni gathered with more than a dozen business and civic organizations who were also in attendance, including:
Organizations who have signaled support
- One Acadiana
- Acadiana Center for the Arts
- A+PEL
- Concerned Citizens for Good Governance
- Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office
- Parents Empowered
- State of Greater Black Lafayette
- United Way of Acadiana
- UL Lafayette
- Upper Lafayette
- REALTOR Association of Acadiana
- Lafayette Parish Association of Educators (LPAE)
City councils who have voted in support
- Broussard City Council
- Duson City Council
- Lafayette City-Parish Council
- Scott City Council
- Carencro City Council
The Bishop closed with a strong statement of support, “I support this initiative which is a small sacrifice that will reap a great good, benefiting every citizen in Lafayette parish. Let the future generation say that the people of Lafayette parish cared for their children by providing good schools and classrooms for their education.”
Early voting continues through Saturday, April 22, from 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at 1010 Lafayette Street in downtown Lafayette. Learn more about the tax on the April 29 ballot at yesforourschools.com
A group of nearly 100 prominent individuals signed on in support of the tax, including:
- Glenn Angelle, Angelle Architects
- Tommy Angelle
- Odon Bacque
- Carroll Baudoin, Concerned Citizens for Good Government
- Stuart Billeaud, J. B. Mouton, LLC
- Heather Blanchard, Parents Empowered
- Kathy Bobbs, Women’s & Children’s Hospital
- Boyd R. Boudreaux, JD Bank
- Byron Breaux
- Brittany Broussard
- Elroy Broussard
- Donald Broussard, The Lemoine Company
- Richard C. Broussard, Broussard & David, LLC
- Robbie Bush, Uniglobe Associated Travel
- Craig Campbell, PE, LEED®AP, Associated Design Group, Inc.
- Justin Centanni
- Dr. Tehmi Chassion
- Julie Chauvin
- Joe B. Clarke, Jr.
- Jonathan Cole, Lafayette Parish Association of Educators (LPAE)
- Conrad T. Comeaux, Lafayette Parish Assessor
- Bruce Conque, District 6, Lafayette Council
- Dr. Keith Courville Ed.S., Ph.D., A+PEL
- Rives “Joey” Cradeur, Jr., BernhardMCC
- Blake R. David, Broussard & David, LLC
- Hammy Davis
- Julie Simon-Dronet, COX
- Don Dupuis, Acadiana Computer Systems
- Robert Eddy, Jr., Pinnacle Group Insurance and Financial Services
- David Edmond
- Jason El Koubi, One Acadiana
- Gene Fortier
- Chris Fox
- Sheriff Mark Garber
- Dan Gross, Bell Helicopter
- Darrell Guillory, The Moody Company/Louisiana State Newspapers
- Michael Hare
- Bishop Carlos Harvin
- Randy & Daynese Haynie, Haynie & Associates
- Jeremy Hidalgo
- Erick Knezek, Owner Truston Technologies
- E.J. Krampe III, MacLaff, Inc
- Will LaBar, CGI
- Donna F. Landry, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center
- Britt Latiolais
- Pastor Ken Lazard, Destiny of Faith Christian Center Church
- Lenny Lemoine, The Lemoine Company
- Susannah Johnson Malbreaux, State of Greater Black Lafayette, Chairwoman of LaPESC
- Thomas Marcotte
- Gary McGoffin
- Mike Michot
- John Milton, State of Greater Black Lafayette
- Mandi Mitchell
- Dawn Morris
- Mary Morrison
- Mayor Purvis Morrison
- Frank and Tracy Neuner, NeunerPate
- Danny Nugier
- Jason Patout, Gulf Coast Bank
- Elena Pecoraro, Pecoraro Law
- Clerk of Court, Louis Perret
- Tyron Picard, The Picard Group
- Bryant Poche
- Jim Poche
- Philipe Prouet
- Angel Racca, Councilwoman, District 1, City of Broussard
- Gary Russo, Jones Walker LLP
- Bree Sargent, Acadiana Center for the Arts
- William C. “Kip” Schumacher, MD, Schumacher Clinical Partners
- Larry Sides
- Luke Sonnier
- Dee Stanley
- Keith Stutes, District Attorney
- Mark Suellentrop, Cabot Corporation
- Jan Swift, Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation
- Monty G. Warren
- Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, Acadiana Center for the Arts
- Tom Zaunbrecher, Spherion Staffing and Recruiting
- Blaise Zuschlag, Acadian Companies
- Richard Zuschlag, Acadian Companies
- CORE Construction Services, LLC
- REALTOR® Association of Acadiana
- THOMASSEE AND ASSOCIATES, LLC
- United Way of Acadiana
About One Acadiana
One Acadiana is the leading economic development organization for the nine-parish Acadiana region located in south Louisiana. With more than 1,200 investors, members, and partners, One Acadiana serves as the voice of the regional business community. The organization is located in the city of Lafayette and serves a region of roughly 700,000 people with a vibrant culture and unique entrepreneurial spirit. Learn more at OneAcadiana.org