The Lawrence school board on Wednesday voted to turn the former Centennial Elementary School into a small high school program, and add additional classrooms to Langston Hughes Elementary School.
Most board members said they were excited about the new choice high school, but some were concerned expansion of a west Lawrence elementary school may leave the east side behind.
The district announced the capital outlay projects in a news release Friday. The board voted 7-0 on Wednesday to give the district the green light.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the Centennial school is meant to be flexible and offer an option separate from Lawrence Virtual School and the Lawrence College and Career Center.
“What we have found is that students who need a different way of learning have often had the choice of virtual, or they might choose the academy, even though that’s not really meeting the need perfectly,” Swift said. “It is very unusual to be a district of our size, and not to have a choice, nontraditional option available for our high school students.”
Students at Free State and Lawrence high schools could attend the choice school Tuesdays and Thursdays to meet credit recovery hours, Swift gave as an example. Alternatively, students who attend the choice school full time because of job commitments or other daytime needs could potentially have a noon to 5 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m. schedule, Swift said.
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Centennial, at 2145 Louisiana St., closed to elementary students in May 2003. It housed Lawrence Virtual School at one point in the aftermath. Since then, it’s partly been a practice site with batting cages for the Lawrence High School baseball program as well as other athletics. Swift said those uses can continue along with the choice school there.
“The location is so nice right next to the existing high school, because you can imagine good partnerships, like thinking about wanting to streamline staffing,” board member Kelly Jones said.
In addition to more classrooms at Langston Hughes, the district will expand its storm shelters and common spaces, such as the cafeteria.
Langston Hughes has the highest enrollment of all elementary schools, and Swift said it’s the only one currently over capacity. The current enrollment there is at 591, she said.
Board member Anne Costello asked if the district has considered shifting boundaries to the east to alleviate overcrowding at Langston Hughes. Swift said she does not believe that’s a viable option because it would work against the idea of neighborhood schools and would cost more in transportation.
Board member Carole Cadue-Blackwood questioned why Langston Hughes instead of a school on the east side that’s also seen growth, such as Prairie Park Elementary School. Jones asked hypothetically if Prairie Park was also over capacity if the goal would be to add classrooms there, as well. Swift said yes, and mentioned she will soon share plans to expand some other schools by adding preschool classrooms.
The number or grade levels of classrooms to be added at Langston Hughes were not specified in the report Wednesday.
Costs for both projects will fit within the district’s approved 2025-26 budget from the capital outlay fund, according to Swift. Specific expenditure amounts were also not included in the report Wednesday.
Larry Englebrick, deputy superintendent, said the district will look to hire ACI Boland for designing and planning, and construction will likely begin in January.
Swift said administrators wanted to bring the ideas to the board before fleshing it out, and that details will come before the board at subsequent meetings.
The district anticipates opening both in August 2026.
Other capital outlay projects, such as high school track renovations, additional preschool classrooms, and a new press box at Free State High School will continue forward, Swift said.
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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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