Lawrence school board members on Monday will hear two reports from administrators: one on a community conversation held through the early months of 2026, and a school year-end report.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift will be joined for the Community Conversation report by James Polk, director of data and information services; Jake Potter, outgoing executive director of communications; and Summer Workman, current director of communications who will move into Potter’s role at the beginning of July.
District administrators connected with students, families and staff to collect feedback during January through March of this year, according to the meeting agenda.
“The premise of the community conversation is that students and staff, families and community are a primary source of feedback, and they know best the strengths and opportunities for improvement in the Lawrence Public Schools,” according to the agenda.
Secondly, “In the spirit of continuous improvement, the end-of-June report will update progress toward shared goals, aligned with district need and with constituent feedback,” according to the agenda. “This work, as well as board discussion will inform next steps for the 2026-27 school year.”
There were no actual reports or additional documentation attached to the agenda as of Saturday afternoon.
Meeting info
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, June 22 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.
This meeting is set to be the 13th in a row without general public comment on the agenda. The board hasn’t heard public comment since Nov. 17.
The board is set to enter an executive session, or closed-door meeting, for 45 minutes at the end of the agenda, with no action to follow.
See the full meeting agenda at this link. See ways to contact the school board at lawrencekstimes.com/contact-usd497bd.
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