Construction under way for new high school building in Lafayette, Louisiana

The Lafayette Parish (Louisiana) district has broken ground on a new 300,000-square-foot Lafayette High School.

The Lafayette Daily Advertiser reports that the first stage of the construction — building a new parking lot — has been completed, and the work is beginning on the building itself. The new school will be built behind the existing school, which will be demolished in spring 2026, after the new school is completed.

The building is on track to open in August 2025.

 When completed, the three-story, 300,000-square-foot building will be able to accommodate 2,300 ninth-, 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students.

The need for a new Lafayette High building has been evident for years, with a facilities study in 1990 calling the school a "hodge podge of buildings that are run down."

In early 2022, school board members presented a proposed design to community members, saying that about 30% of the building would be for academic classrooms, 19% for performing and fine arts, 15% for PE and athletics, 11% for career and technology, 7% for food services, 6% for administration, 4% for a media center, 4% for special education and 4% for support.

Lafayette High was one of three schools the school board has been prioritizing, along with Prairie Elementary School and Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary School (formerly called Carencro Heights Elementary School). The district recently celebrated the completion of Prairie Elementary, and students began the school year in the new facility.