The Lawrence school board is seeking community members to serve on the Boundary Advisory Committee, which will be tasked this year with examining boundaries of the district’s two high schools.
School board President Kelly Jones has directed the BAC this fall to “examine high school boundaries to better balance enrollment numbers and the socio-economic balance of enrollments across Free State and Lawrence High Schools.”
Jones spoke during the board’s June 10 meeting about her concerns about Lawrence High’s enrollment falling well below Free State’s.
Free State and Lawrence high schools’ boundaries currently lie along 15th Street, with students residing north of 15th attending FSHS, and south of 15th, LHS.
“The historic 15th Street boundary line may have made sense when it was drawn; however, the city growth patterns have shifted and we need to evaluate boundary lines with a continued equity focus, per the committee’s charge,” Jones said at the June meeting. “And additionally, I think it will help us with staffing issues so that we can create and better ensure equitable experiences between the high schools.”
The BAC also includes school board members, administrators, and representatives of the teachers union and classified staff union representatives, City of Lawrence’s Planning and Development Office, First Student and Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, according to the district.
Those who are interested in serving on the BAC can apply via the Google Form at this link. The district asks for applications to be submitted by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7.
The application includes meeting dates of 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 9, Oct. 23 and Nov. 20. All are Wednesdays.
If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
If you have news tips, questions, comments, concerns, compliments or corrections for our team, please reach out and let us know what’s on your mind. Find our contact info (and a quick contact form) at LawrenceKSTimes.com/contact.
Follow us so you won’t miss the local news that matters most to you:
Latest Lawrence news:
Meet the candidates for Douglas County Commission District 3
The incumbent Democrat faces two Republican challengers to represent Douglas County Commission District 3, which includes much of west Lawrence and most of the western side of the county. We asked their positions on wind and solar energy, what issues drove them to run and more.
Meet the candidates for Douglas County Commission District 5
Two Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian are running to represent Baldwin City, parts of south-central Lawrence and much of southeastern Douglas County as commissioner for District 5. We asked the top three issues driving them to run for this office, a question they’d ask their opponents and more.