Lawrence school board President Bob Byers said Monday that he plans to restore public comment at board meetings, limiting speakers to comments on items included on that meeting’s agenda at first.
Monday night’s meeting was the 17th in a row without general public comment. The board hasn’t heard public comment since Nov. 17.
Byers said he has received emails and questions about when public comment would return. He said he values public input, particularly on matters before the board, but that the policy committee and district staff must first work through necessary policy and procedural changes.
Under the proposed structure, speakers would need to attend in person and address a current agenda item. Remote or telephone comments would not be included.
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The existing deadline — noon on the day before the meeting — would remain in place for now, Byers said.
“I value the public’s opinion, specifically when we hit topics on our agenda where we need to really get that extra from the community,” Byers said.
He said the board later could consider restoring open public comment, which would allow people to speak on subjects not on the agenda. Byers proposed placing that segment at the end of meetings and limiting it to 15 to 20 minutes.
The initial agenda-only format could return once the policy committee and district finish their work, Byers said. He said he wants the process in place “pretty quickly.”
The district’s budget hearing and revenue neutral hearing, both set for Sept. 14, must allow public comments under state law.
In other business:
• The school board approved publication of the 2026-27 budget. Read more about that at this link.
• In other business, the board gave final approval to a policy limiting staff communications for district purposes via social media. Read more about that in this article.
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Courtney Lane (she/her), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2026. She can be reached at [email protected].
Read her complete bio here. Read her work for the Times at this link, and see her photography for the Times at this link.
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