A Lawrence school district committee on Monday will update the board on its interest in exploring a feeder system in the future instead of making any boundary changes for next year.
The Boundary Advisory Committee was charged this school year with making a recommendation to the board with the goal of balancing enrollment more evenly between Free State and Lawrence high schools for 2025-26. The district hasn’t changed high school boundary lines in more than 20 years.
The BAC during a meeting Wednesday decided to defer changes to high school boundaries they were previously considering and recommend no changes next year. New projections the committee received Wednesday from consultant RSP & Associates showed future enrollment imbalances across elementary school buildings amid districtwide decreases.
Members cited a need for a longer-term solution by analyzing elementary, middle and high school boundaries altogether.
A feeder system could tie all three school levels together by keeping students with the same cohort through graduation, but some committee members had expressed concerns that it could be too disruptive. The BAC said it wants to look into the option more.
The meeting agenda item says the report Monday is for informational purposes only, so the board is not set to take any action.
See the report attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs.
Solar energy at Sunflower Elementary School
The board on Monday will consider accepting a bid and approving a contract to get solar panels installed at Sunflower Elementary School.
The proposed contract is with solar installer company Cromwell Environmental for the base bid price of $245,770, according to the agenda item.
There were two cheaper bids, but the district scored Cromwell Environmental with the highest evaluation among the eight bidders. Funding for the project would come from the district’s 2025 fiscal year capital outlay fund, and the district would work with the company on ways to lower costs.
Cromwell also installed solar panels at Prairie Park Elementary last year.
Board members will vote on the contract as part of their consent agenda, a list of items routinely approved in one motion unless a member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion. See the district’s rubric for evaluating bidders and request for proposals document attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs.
In other business:
• Fall engagement report: District administrators will share a report with the board about past community engagement events and survey results.
Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift held meetings with students, families, staff and school partners during the fall semester. The report will include some strengths and areas of improvement from feedback.
No presentation materials are attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs.
• Work session: Board members will also hold a work session starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27. No details on the work session are included in the meeting agenda.
The regular meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. Monday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.
Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs, via go.boarddocs.com.
To give public comment during the board meeting, sign up before the meeting starts either in person or by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
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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.
More coverage: Boundary Advisory Committee
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesLawrence school board to hear update on boundary work, consider approving solar project
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
