In April 2021, the Lawrence school board voted to close Kennedy Elementary School to grades K-5 and use it as an early childhood development center.
In January 2022, Lawrence school district staff proposed scenarios that would involve closures and/or consolidations of multiple elementary schools and middle schools. On Feb. 14, 2022, the school board decided to take closures off the table for the coming school year, but said difficult budget conversations would continue.
In February 2023, the superintendent recommended closing three elementary schools and repurposing a middle school. The Lawrence school board voted on Feb. 27, 2023 not to consider Woodlawn Elementary for closure, and to take a year to explore repurposing Liberty Memorial Central Middle School. On March 27, the board voted 4-3 to close Broken Arrow and Pinckney elementary schools after the 2022-23 school year.
LATEST COVERAGE
Lawrence school district analyzes former Broken Arrow and Pinckney students’ attendance, behavior
Attendance and behavior issues among students who transferred from the now-closed Pinckney and Broken Arrow elementary schools last year have improved, a district administrator told the school board Wednesday.
Lawrence school district analyzes former Broken Arrow and Pinckney students’ attendance, behavior
Attendance and behavior issues among students who transferred from the now-closed Pinckney and Broken Arrow elementary schools last year have improved, a district administrator told the school board Wednesday.
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Lawrence Times graphic; contributed photos
Where do they stand? Lawrence school board members share thoughts on school closure proposals
As of Friday, where do Lawrence school board members stand on school closure proposals?
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Lawrence school district’s budget committee supports school closures, initial poll indicates
Closing a middle school and two or more elementary schools; sharing staff across high schools; and cutting some special education support positions were some of the top-ranked cost-cutting proposals that members of the Lawrence school district’s Budget and Program Evaluation Committee indicated they would support.
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Lawrence school district’s boundary committee to take anonymous vote on school closure proposals
The district’s Boundary Advisory Committee is planning to take an anonymous vote on which school closure scenarios to keep on the table, despite concerns about transparency that some members raised.
Carter Gaskins / Lawrence Times file photo
Longtime Lawrence school board member explains how district’s budget crisis has unfolded
Lawrence school board Vice President Shannon Kimball took the board commentary portion of Monday’s meeting as an opportunity to provide some insight into the history of USD 497’s funding woes.
August Rudisell / The Lawrence Times
Lawrence community members rally in support of schools at board meeting
Lawrence community members rallied at school district offices Monday in support of their neighborhood schools, and the board got to hear from some very young public commenters.
Dave Loewenstein/Contributed Photo
Signs of support for Lawrence schools pop up around town
A tight timeline for the Lawrence school board to make decisions about whether to close schools seems to have lit a fire under many community members who are coming together to “#SaveOurSchools497.”
August Rudisell/The Lawrence Times
Closure proposals missing from Lawrence school board agenda; board will consider nixing some classes and more
Nothing on the Lawrence school board’s Monday agenda indicated whether members will discuss proposals to close several district schools. But the board will consider deleting some high school classes, approving a calendar with a weeklong fall break and Juneteenth as a holiday in 2023, and more.
August Rudisell / The Lawrence Times
Closing 5 Lawrence schools would save about $3.25 million; timeline for decisions is tightening
A proposal to close four Lawrence elementary schools and a middle school could save the district about $3.25 million, and the school board will have to decide by the end of the month whether to keep that option on the table.
Lawrence school district’s budget and boundary advisory committees to meet Wednesday, hear details on Hillcrest proposal
The Lawrence school district’s Boundary Advisory Committee and its Budget and Program Evaluation Committee will both meet Wednesday, and the BAC will hear details about a proposal to close Hillcrest Elementary.
Andrea Albright / The Lawrence Times
Lawrence parents, students begin campaign against school closures with sidewalk messages of support
Parents, students, and neighbors on Monday covered sidewalks with chalk messages of hope at Lawrence schools that could face closures.
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Other resources
• Contact Lawrence school board members
• Facebook group: Save Lawrence Neighborhood Schools
• Facebook page: Lawrence Education Justice Collective
• Website: Save Our Schools
• Lawrence Public Schools Boundary Advisory Committee page (BAC)
• Lawrence Public Schools Budget and Program Evaluation Committee page (BPEC)
• Facebook group: Save Woodlawn Elementary!
• Website: Save Our School – Woodlawn Elementary
