Lawrence school board members will meet Monday for their annual organizational meeting, where they’ll elect the next board president and vice president.
The board president generally assists with setting meeting agendas and presides over meetings, and the vice president fills in during meetings in the president’s absence. The board president can also call special meetings.
Current board President Kelly Jones has served in the role for two consecutive years. She agreed to serve as president again last year to lessen transitions as the board was seeking to fill the superintendent job. The current board vice president is GR Gordon-Ross.
Preschool at Woodlawn
Board members will also consider a bid to complete renovations at Woodlawn Elementary School, 508 Elm St., in order to implement a preschool program there.
The district plans to open one preschool class each at Sunflower and Woodlawn elementary schools during the upcoming school year, Superintendent Jeanice Swift told school board members in March.
The work will add a restroom and an additional exit to the preschool space at Woodlawn, according to the agenda. The project, to be completed by ACI Boland Architects and B.A. Green Construction Co., is estimated to cost about $208,000 from the district’s capital outlay fund.
The board in April approved a $79,000 purchase of preschool-appropriate playground equipment for Sunflower and Woodlawn.
Software purchases
Board members will also consider approving renewals of several district software systems, including PowerSchool, ClassLink, WebEx and more. They’ll also consider approving $43,000 for the new ParentSquare communication tool, meant to consolidate communications between district employees and school families without sharing personal contact information.
“The district piloted the software in April and May and was pleased with its versatility and the added security of private messaging,” according to the agenda. “Moving forward, implementing ParentSquare district-wide will streamline more secured communications and foster stronger family engagement. Training and support will be provided to ensure all staff and families can effectively utilize the platform.”
The construction bid and software items are on the board’s consent agenda, which is a list of items generally approved with one vote unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull something for discussion.
The board agenda did not include any new business or reports as of Sunday morning.
The school board will meet starting at 6 p.m. Monday, July 14 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, sign up by noon the day of the meeting by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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