Lawrence school board members and the new interim superintendent took their commentary time on Monday to reflect on a Georgia school shooting last week that resulted in four deaths, and to call for the Kansas Legislature to pass sensible gun laws.
Two students, 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two math teachers, Christina Irimie, 53, and Richard Aspinwall, 39, were killed at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4. Nine people were injured.
The 14-year-old alleged shooter, Colt Gray, is in custody and has been charged with murder among other charges. The weapon used was an assault rifle.
In the wake, Lawrence school board President Kelly Jones called upon the Kansas Legislature to pass firearm safety laws, such as certain assault weapon bans and stricter background checks for purchasing guns. This isn’t the first time she’s made that request.
“Schools cannot carry the burden of students’ safety on their own,” Jones said. “We’re asking — and begging — please enact sensible gun laws. And stop making us ask.”
Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift encouraged responsible gun ownership, specifically asking community members who own guns to ensure children in their homes don’t have access to them. She read the four deceased victims’ names aloud.
“To help keep your family safe and prevent tragedies, it’s crucial, crucial to secure your firearm,” Swift said.
Reporting showed that Apalachee High School’s new panic alert system, through the company CENTEGIX, allowed teachers to notify law enforcement where exactly the shooting was occurring inside the school.
The Lawrence school district recently piloted that same system in six schools, and the board voted during its previous meeting on Aug. 26 to expand it into all schools. A state grant is assisting with the cost for half of the first year.
Board Vice President GR Gordon-Ross said although imperfect, the system could help save lives “should it ever need to do it” in an emergency.
Read more about gun locks and how to get one for free in Douglas County in this reader’s letter to the Times.
In other business:
• Swift’s inaugural board meeting: Monday was Swift’s first school board meeting as the Lawrence interim superintendent.
She said during her report to the board that she and the district will be hosting a series of community engagement events September through November. Folks should look out for more information and concrete dates coming soon, she said, and a final report to the board on that engagement is set to follow in the winter.
“And so we’ll be out visiting through the fall, really to focus our work, to enhance our equity, inclusion and opportunity for all of our students, and to prepare to move forward for planning the future of Lawrence Public Schools,” Swift said. “We want to hear from everyone in the community, and we promise we will use what we hear and what we learn in our conversations to inform and align the work to move forward positive and productively.”
All board members welcomed and commended Swift on her work in the district thus far. Read more about Swift in this article.
• Budget approved: The board approved the 2024-25 budget. Read more about that in this article.
Note: A date in this post has been corrected.
If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
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.
