The Lawrence school board’s goal of a placing a bond issue on the November ballot is slipping from its grasp.

“I don’t think we’re anywhere near having consensus of the board or the community,” said Jim French, of the DLR Group consulting firm hired by the board to conduct a facilities study.

He said it was no longer realistic to think completion of the study by DLR Group, development of bond issue details by the board and thorough debate of that blueprint by the public could occur within four months.

Board member Jack Davidson agreed.

“It cannot possibly happen,” he said. “It’s a wild pipe dream to assume we’re going to do anything in November.”

If the facilities study had been wrapped up in the spring, Davidson said, a November vote would make sense. At this point, DLR Group has presented preliminary findings on elementary schools and junior high schools. An outline of facilities needs at the high schools is due Monday.

No call yet from board

The school board hasn’t officially thrown in the towel.

But it might be time for the board to say publicly that the complexity of the work doesn’t permit a November vote, said Austin Turney, board vice president.

Even advocates of an Election Day vote think there’s only a slim chance it will happen.

“We’re not making the call yet,” Board President Scott Morgan said. “It would be my preference to keep moving on with it. It just looks like that’s going to be difficult.”

Supt. Randy Weseman said he preferred November but didn’t want to undermine a community support for schools by moving too fast.

“This process is open-ended enough,” Weseman said. “It’s hard to put a drop-dead date.”

He added: “We’ll serve no wine before our time.”

‘Long, complicated discussion’

It’s possible the district could pay for a mail-in ballot vote in early 2003.

Or the board could place the bond question on the April ballot. Complicating this scenario is that a majority of the school board is up for re-election at that time. Campaigns by Mary Loveland, Sue Morgan, Jack Davidson and Scott Morgan, and those of challengers with opposing views, could add uncertainty to outcome of a bond vote.

It’s likely the bond issue would finance more than $30 million in school renovation and construction. The public’s perception of that cost would be injected with emotional fervor if the board also decided to consolidate elementary schools.

Davidson said decisions still had to be made about elementary schools, crowding at junior high schools, future of the alternative high school and location of preschool programs.

“That’s not going to happen overnight. This is going to be a long complicated discussion.”

Community still learning

Turney said the bond-issue package would be the product of compromise. The quest is to come up with a plan that has unanimous support of the seven board members, he said.

“Even if one or two jump off,” he said, “it really casts a shadow over the bond issue.”

Board member Linda Robinson said it would be wise to let the November hourglass run out.

“I’d prefer to do it when the community is well-informed,” Robinson said. “I’d rather get all our ducks in a row.”

She also said voters might still be stinging in November from the board’s implementation in August of $850,000 in new students fees. The fees cover everything from music to football to bus service.

Dollars-and-cents issues also could undermine a bond issue in November if the state’s economy was still sputtering, she said.