Calcasieu school superintendent resigns following severe weather flap

LAKE CHARLES — The superintendent of Calcasieu Parish School Board announced his retirement Monday, following widespread criticism of his decision not to cancel school last month ahead of severe weather that included flooding and tornadoes.

In his retirement statement, Shannon Lafargue reflected on his 34-year career in education, expressing hope that he had positively affected the lives of those he had served. 

“I have been honored to serve side-by-side with great teachers, administrators, and staff, and I thank all those individuals who commit to this great profession we call education,” Lafargue said.

The superintendent’s decision to keep schools open on April 10 has come under fire from parents, teachers, bus drivers and students at multiple school board meetings. Many questioned why Lafargue didn’t cancel school when surrounding districts did.

At an April 30 special board meeting, Lafargue told the audience he took full responsibility for his decision, acknowledging a previous video statement on Facebook did not express his position as he had hoped.

Parents want school superintendent removed for holding classes in severe weather

The National Weather Service confirmed three separate tornadoes touched down in the Lake Charles area on the morning of April 10. They included an EF-2 tornado with winds up to 115 mph near McNeese State University, and two EF-1 twisters in Cameron Parish. 

At that same meeting, School Board District 12 representative Russell Castille said he, Lafargue and all board members had discussed the April 10 expected weather conditions in a group text message after the state and surrounding parishes had announced closures. Those in the group text had asked Lafargue about Calcasieu also closing its schools.

“After 9 o’clock at some point, we received a text from our superintendent [that] said: ‘We are open period,” Castille said. “What that meant to me was, ‘I’m large and in charge.’”

In a phone interview with the Illuminator, Castille declined to share the text messages, stating he had already deleted them.

“That’s in the past, and we’ve moved on from there,” Castille said. “So I probably wouldn’t have shared it anyway. We’ve developed a delayed start program, and everybody’s said their peace at this point.”

The school board approved a delayed start policy at the April 30 meeting that would allowing school to begin as late as 10 a.m. when severe weather threatens.

Lafargue assumed the position of superintendent on July 1, 2022, having previously served as the district’s chief operating officer and chief academic officer. His retirement is effective June 28. More details about the upcoming search process for the next superintendent will be provided soon, the Calcasieu Parish School Board said.