The Lawrence school board on Monday will learn where the district is with its instructional hours following several snow days and consider approving the 2025-26 district calendar.
So far during the 2024-25 school year, the district has canceled nine full school days for inclement weather, and an extra day for Deerfield Elementary School last week because of a power outage.
The district has planned to notify school communities of a plan to potentially make up instructional hours no later than Friday, March 14, and board members are set to hear an update at their meeting.
The Kansas State Department of Education forgives local districts the same number of inclement weather hours or days they build into their calendars and use. District spokesperson Julie Boyle previously said the state may offer more support considering an early January storm impacted most districts across the state.
The district already has planned to hold school on Monday, April 21, which was set to be a makeup day if needed.
Additionally, the board will consider adopting next year’s academic calendar.
No reports or presentation slides were attached to either agenda item as of Sunday afternoon.
In other business:
• Final approval to terminate contract: The board will consider approving a final resolution to terminate Mark Gridley’s contract.
Gridley, who worked as a speech language pathologist at Prairie Park Elementary School since 2021, has been charged with a sex crime against a child at the school. The district immediately relieved him of his duties after learning of the allegations, Superintendent Jeanice Swift told families.
The contract is 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.
• Contract for nurses: The board will also consider approving a contract increase to hire more substitute school nurses. The three current substitute nurses for the district have sporadic availability, according to the meeting agenda item, and student needs cannot be fully met.
If approved, an additional $25,000 would be added to the current $32,000 contract with Favorite Healthcare Staffing Services, for $57,000 total. Costs to carry out the contracted services are fully covered by the State of Kansas K-12 Infectious Disease Management Funding Grant, according to the agenda.
The contract is not attached but is part of the board’s consent agenda.
• Executive session: The board will hold a 15-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, to discuss legal matters at the beginning of the meeting. Swift, Larry Englebrick, deputy superintendent; Kristen Ryan, assistant superintendent and executive director of human resources; and Brad Finkeldei, district legal counsel, are invited to be present. No action is set to follow.
The school board meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. Monday, March 10 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
