Lafayette Parish board approves 2026–27 consent budgets after public complaints about delayed insurance claims
April 17, 2026 | Lafayette Parish, School Boards, Louisiana
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The Lafayette Parish School Board voted to approve a package of 2026–27 budgets on the consent agenda after hearing public comment and consultant explanations about delayed insurance claims.
Board President called for the vote after listing multiple funds on the consent agenda — including special revenue, capital improvements, construction and bond construction funds, the group insurance fund, school food services, sales tax funds, debt service, and a journal fund summary — and after a motion to approve all action consent items (moved by "Mister Bertrand" and seconded by "Mister Wigela"). The motion passed with eight votes in favor and none opposed.
Members of the public objected to grouping the insurance budget and other substantial items into a consent agenda without individual review. Katie Landry, who identified herself during public comment, said many members and retirees were experiencing delays. "I had 15 claims not paid, and they were not complicated," Landry said, urging the board for more transparency and questioning why payroll and other items were grouped without a published salary schedule.
A consultant addressing the board, Melody Terrell, described technical issues caused by the transition between third‑party administrators (TPAs). "There was a problem ... coordination of benefits provisions, and we believe that that's probably the biggest problem that we're hearing from the people today," Terrell said, and added that about 300 providers were affected. She told the board the affected claims required manual reprocessing and estimated it would take about 56 days to clear the backlog.
Board members asked for more regular reporting and customer‑service metrics. One board member (District 5) urged monthly updates for trustees and asked the consultant to provide call‑center statistics, including number of calls received, disconnects and resolution counts. Several members pointed the public to online spending portals such as lafayettecheckbook.com and louisianacheckbook.com to review how district funds are spent.
The board also discussed procurement for HVAC work. Board members said existing professional service contracts for maintenance are different from contracts for new installations, and that major HVAC installations would go to public bid when required by procurement thresholds. Staff repeated that the budget as presented is balanced and that the April 30 advertisement and a public hearing on May 14 are the next steps in the adoption process.
The board recorded the vote as eight in favor, none against, and the president declared the motion passed; no consent items had been pulled. The meeting was then adjourned.
Board President called for the vote after listing multiple funds on the consent agenda — including special revenue, capital improvements, construction and bond construction funds, the group insurance fund, school food services, sales tax funds, debt service, and a journal fund summary — and after a motion to approve all action consent items (moved by "Mister Bertrand" and seconded by "Mister Wigela"). The motion passed with eight votes in favor and none opposed.
Members of the public objected to grouping the insurance budget and other substantial items into a consent agenda without individual review. Katie Landry, who identified herself during public comment, said many members and retirees were experiencing delays. "I had 15 claims not paid, and they were not complicated," Landry said, urging the board for more transparency and questioning why payroll and other items were grouped without a published salary schedule.
A consultant addressing the board, Melody Terrell, described technical issues caused by the transition between third‑party administrators (TPAs). "There was a problem ... coordination of benefits provisions, and we believe that that's probably the biggest problem that we're hearing from the people today," Terrell said, and added that about 300 providers were affected. She told the board the affected claims required manual reprocessing and estimated it would take about 56 days to clear the backlog.
Board members asked for more regular reporting and customer‑service metrics. One board member (District 5) urged monthly updates for trustees and asked the consultant to provide call‑center statistics, including number of calls received, disconnects and resolution counts. Several members pointed the public to online spending portals such as lafayettecheckbook.com and louisianacheckbook.com to review how district funds are spent.
The board also discussed procurement for HVAC work. Board members said existing professional service contracts for maintenance are different from contracts for new installations, and that major HVAC installations would go to public bid when required by procurement thresholds. Staff repeated that the budget as presented is balanced and that the April 30 advertisement and a public hearing on May 14 are the next steps in the adoption process.
The board recorded the vote as eight in favor, none against, and the president declared the motion passed; no consent items had been pulled. The meeting was then adjourned.
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