As Lawrence school district administrators move toward hiring a new Native American Student Services coordinator, members of two committees are asking them to consider budget changes to free up more funds to go directly toward supporting Indigenous students.
The Lawrence school board formally approved the December resignation of former NASS coordinator Kenny St. Pierre on Jan. 8, and the position was posted Jan. 9.
St. Pierre, Ihanktonwan/Yankton Sioux, had a limited budget for students since his position is funded by Title IV. He said that clashed with his values.
NASS serves Native American students who are enrolled members of their tribal nations. This year’s NASS budget is $175,080 — almost $96,000 from Title VI, about $37,100 from Johnson-O’Malley funds, and $42,000 from the district’s ESSER III (one-time, federal COVID-19 relief) funding, according to information from district spokesperson Julie Boyle. Between the coordinator position and administrative assistant, salaries comprise almost 60% of that budget.
“I didn’t like that feeling because it felt like I was taking from the students and families,” St. Pierre said last month.
There were four applicants for the coordinator position as of Monday, Cynthia Johnson, executive director of inclusion, engagement and belonging, told members of the Indian Parent Committee and Indian Education Committee during a meeting Monday evening. They will interview candidates on Friday, Feb. 2.
Some NASS families interact with the district through the two committees’ meetings. During another recent parent meeting, parents expressed concerns about the leadership turnover and NASS’ ability to succeed without an established coordinator right now. They wanted to ensure they’d be involved in the hiring process like in the past.
Parent committee members will be able to participate in the interview process, and administrators will consider their recommendations, Johnson and Kristen Ryan, executive director of human resources, told members Monday.
St. Pierre had served in the position for just more than a year, since September 2022. He replaced the previous coordinator, Kelly Walker, who had resigned in 2022. Before Walker, Jennifer Attocknie served in the position for some time. NASS Administrative Assistant Shayla Chickaway, enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, is currently filling the role in the interim.
Some committee members voiced hope that the district would consider directly funding the NASS coordinator and administrative assistant positions in the future.
Jennifer Bonilla, librarian at Billy Mills Middle School and an enrolled member of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, said she thought it would be a great way for the district to show it cares about Indigenous students and families.
“I think that one of the things that we pride ourselves on as a district is being ahead of things, especially when it comes to equity work,” Bonilla said. If the NASS salaries were included in the district’s budget, all of the grant funding could go to the children, and the people in the NASS positions wouldn’t feel “like they’re robbing these children so that they can feed their own families.”
Particularly given that the district recently decided to reinstate some administrative positions that were cut amid budget cuts in the past couple of years, such as the elementary school director and secondary school director positions, she asked if there was any way to “dream this into actuality.”
Applicants for the NASS coordinator position must possess at least a bachelor’s degree in education, social work or a related field, according to the job posting. The job is a full-time, classified position with $31.21 per hour salary.
St. Pierre, present for Monday’s meeting, asked if the group could go before the Lawrence school board and make a formal budget request. Johnson said Superintendent Anthony Lewis decides what goes before the school board.
Johnson and Ryan said they would take the committees’ requests back to the district’s executive leadership team, which meets on Tuesdays.
According to the job posting, the NASS coordinator is mostly responsible for overseeing grants. Other tasks are specific to academic and cultural support. Some committee members questioned that job description and said it seemed as though St. Pierre had many administrative duties beyond those functions.
“I don’t feel like it’s fair for Kenny to have his job description, but then be expected to have as much responsibility in other areas when (the district is) not paying any of that,” parent committee member Sharon Eagleman said.
Some committee members said there are many complicated facets of the grant funding and requirements that come with them. Bonilla said she thought it was inappropriate for the NASS coordinator to be asked to complete administrative duties on top of the grant management.
“There are massive treaty responsibilities, and I’m not saying that I don’t trust their judgment,” Bonilla said of district administrators. “I’m saying I am confident that they are not aware of what these grants really mean.”
Johnson said the 2024-25 budget process is not done, and she would ask for the deadline to be extended to accommodate a budget request on behalf of the committees.
Administrators will select one NASS coordinator candidate to recommend to Lewis for his approval. Boyle said the goal is for Lewis to submit his final recommendation to the Lawrence school board for consideration on Monday, Feb. 12.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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