LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve plans for a new kindergarten through eighth grade school in north Lafayette, a project aimed at replacing decades-old campuses with a single modern facility.

The new school will be built on the current site of J.W. Faulk Elementary and will merge J.W. Faulk, Dr. Raphael Baranco Elementary and Paul Breaux Middle into one campus. Baranco was built in 1981, while Faulk and Paul Breaux date back to 1958. Board members Amy Trahan and Josh Edmond, who represent the north side, introduced the plan to address aging infrastructure in the area.

Superintendent Francis Touchet said the vote follows years of discussion about the need for updated facilities.

“I think that every board member has been briefed. Every board member seems favorable in doing so,” Touchet said before the meeting. “I’ve been meeting with members from the Northside community. They have been talking about this for quite some time. There’s been years and years of discussion, but nothing has come to actually light.”

Touchet said the district will now move quickly to begin the process.

“If all of these different things pass, we will start this project as soon as possible — getting an architect, making sure that we have the right contractor and making sure that we have this facility up and running within six months,” he said.

The district plans to use $3 million in recurring funds from the general fund and issue bonds to generate up to $50 million to pay for construction.

“We will secure $3 million of recurring funds from the general fund,” Touchet said. “We will go out for bonds, so that we can actually generate up to $50 million to be able to provide for that particular project.”

Touchet said he hopes to see the new campus open as early as 2027.

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