The Lawrence school board on Monday will look to hire Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift to the permanent position.
Swift has served in the interim role since roughly the start of the school year, coming to the district from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Board members announced Friday they had chosen her to lead long term, pending a formal vote.
The selection of Swift comes sooner than the original tentative deadline as the board has unanimously deemed her the “most qualified candidate,” according to the board agenda item for Monday’s meeting.
“She possesses the vision, experience, and dedication necessary to continue advancing the district’s goals,” the agenda item says. “The committee sees no need to further extend the search process at additional expense to the district and community.”
Board members in November approved a contract not to exceed $11,500 for the Kansas Association of School Boards to assist with the superintendent search.
The agenda did not include a formal contract with Swift — rather, the board would be approving employing her as superintendent for three years, starting July 1, “pending the successful negotiation of a contract.”
In August, the board approved a contract for Swift to serve as the interim superintendent through June 30 at a salary of $194,482 for 10 months — the prorated equivalent of a $235,000 annual salary. The contract included benefits, including more than six weeks (33 days) of vacation, as well as sick and personal leave.
Pending the board’s formal approval Monday, Swift will be the district’s 10th superintendent.
Public comment
General public comment has been moved to the end of the meeting Monday, according to the agenda.
Normally, the general public comment period — when the board hears comments that are not related to specific agenda items — occurs near the beginning of each meeting. But after a confrontational exchange between the board and a frequent public commenter during the Feb. 10 meeting, board President Kelly Jones floated the idea of pausing public comment. She said she was concerned the board’s business was being disrupted.
Public comments about items on the board’s regular agenda will still be welcome after each agenda item.
As part of the board’s consent agenda — items routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion — the board will look to approve modifications to two related procedures.
Changes are meant to “ensure district compliance with the streaming platform’s acceptable use policies” and “clarify the inclusion of anti-bullying policies during public comment at board meetings,” according to the consent agenda item.
Tentative updates to the public comment procedure say patrons who are unable to comply may email their comments to the board at schoolboard@usd497.org.
The public content procedure has been tentatively updated to note board meetings may be edited or taken down from YouTube to comply with the platform’s rules, but people can request access to unedited versions.
In other business:
• Approval to terminate contract: The board will consider approving a formal resolution to terminate Mark Gridley’s contract, a necessary step if the district needs to end a contract with a certified staff member early.
Gridley, who worked as a speech language pathologist at Prairie Park Elementary School since 2021, has been charged with sex crimes against a child at the school. The district immediately relieved him of his duties after learning of the allegations, Swift told families.
• Two reports: The board will hear two reports, one a review of student enrollment and class size and the other an update on work to create the 2025-26 calendar.
Neither report in the agenda included presentation materials attached to them as of Sunday afternoon.
• Executive session: The board will hold a 10-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, to discuss personnel matters pursuant to nonelected personnel at the beginning of the meeting. No action is set to follow.
The board meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24 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.
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
August Rudisell / Lawrence Times
