The Lawrence school board on Monday will vote on whether to return to MacBooks for high school students for a contract about $1 million more than the district’s previous contract for iPads.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift said at the last board meeting that great interest from high school students prompted the shift back. Board member Shannon Kimball during that meeting said she’s supportive if the district can show the budget doesn’t have the same constraints as before.
The board voted 6-1 in January 2023 to switch from the MacBooks to iPads because of high repair and upkeep costs. Some students and faculty at that meeting raised concerns about equity and efficiency, especially in specialized classes, such as coding, journalism, video and photography.
Each high school student was issued an iPad in the fall 2024 semester, and the devices served other uses across the district, while the district continued purchasing 2,300 MacBooks for high school student and staff temporary checkout.
According to the board’s meeting agenda for Monday, the district made its final iPad lease payment in January this year, which amounted to around $1 million. The initial three-year lease was for $3.22 million total.
If approved Monday, the new equipment will be paid for out of the district’s capital outlay funds, and the agenda item says the district will finance the approximate $4.2 million lease over three years. It includes 3,800 MacBook Air laptops and some additional support software.
“Transitioning to laptops at the high school level supports students’ growing academic and technical needs,” the agenda item says. “Compared to iPads, laptops offer enhanced functionality, improved keyboarding, and broader software compatibility – better aligning with some high school curriculum requirements.”
Board members will vote on the item as part of the consent agenda — a list routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for discussion.
AVID report
The board on Monday will also hear an update on AVID and the district’s goal to implement the program districtwide by 2026.
Implementing AVID — Advancement Via Individual Determination — in all the traditional schools is one of several “enhancements” the district plans to make in 2026. AVID elective courses and curriculum is currently at both high schools, all four middle schools and seven elementary schools, according to the meeting agenda.
AVID uses a learning model called WICOR, or Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading, aimed at boosting career readiness and learning.
See the full report attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs.
At the beginning of the meeting, separate from the report, Sunflower Elementary School teacher Jessica Brown and her first grade students will share about their AVID jewelry project.
In other business:
• Executive session: The board will take a 30-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, to discuss personnel matters following the student presentation. Swift and Deputy Superintendent Larry Englebrick are invited to be present, and no action is set to follow.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, May 12 at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.
To give public comment during the board meeting, sign up by noon the day of the meeting either in person or by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing. The noon signup for public comment is a change from previous procedure, which allowed people to sign up at any point before the meeting began.
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.
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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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