A budget update the Lawrence school board is set to hear on Monday addresses sustainability amid loss of state and federal aid.
As the district’s enrollment continues to decline into 2025-26, as previously projected, the base amount of state aid per student will be adjusted. Special education state aid could potentially remain stagnant next year, according to a report in the board’s meeting agenda.
According to the report, the district may be required to return its Safe & Secure Schools grant, $144,644, to the state this year. Those funds were already spent on installing the Centegix mobile panic button system in all schools and purchasing AEDs, or automated external defibrillators, the report says.
Loss of state aid for professional development and mentor teachers is possible this year and in 2025-26. The district received $41,360 for professional development and $2,856 for mentor teachers in 2023-24.
Federal aid for the district supports the food service department, special education, title programs, Native American Student Services, adult education, the Stronger Connections grant and more. The Trump administration and the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, are cutting programs across federal agencies, and local schools are among those feeling the impacts.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
A recent directive from the White House canceled a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which the district used to purchase local beef.
The USDA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant was paused per federal orders, impacting the district’s nearly $100,000 award for a bakery at Community Connections at Pinckney. Funding for the program will continue through the district’s capital outlay fund, according to the report.
The report says the district continues aiming to recruit and retain staff through competitive wages and educate all students — two top priorities — as well as build fiscal strength for the future.
The report is attached to the agenda item on BoardDocs.
In other business:
• Two additional reports: The board is set to hear two other reports on Monday, one an update on the new cell phone policy implemented in January. The agenda calls the other a preview of “enhancements.” No additional information was included in the agenda for either report as of Sunday afternoon.
• District purchases: The board’s consent agenda — items routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion — includes facility improvements and other purchases.
One item up for approval is an updated contract to renew a three-year lease with Apple. Although the board approved transitioning from MacBooks to iPads for high schoolers in January 2023, the district continues to purchase 2,300 MacBook Air laptop computers for high school students and staff to check out. The agenda item says the cost has been reduced because a new unit became available.
The lease renewal, approved at the Feb. 24 board meeting, has been amended to cost around $2.4 million instead of around $2.6 million.
The board will also consider giving the district purchasing authority of up to $400,000 to acquire more district vehicles. The agenda item says there’s an “immediate demand for student transportation vans, staff vehicles, work trucks, and delivery vehicles.”
View all items on the consent agenda on BoardDocs.
• Executive session: The board will hold a 30-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, to discuss legal matters at the beginning of the meeting. Jeanice Swift, superintendent; 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 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.
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.
Latest Lawrence news:
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
