Advance voting starts today, and campaigning for the Lawrence school board and a $59 million school bond issue is moving into high gear.

Critics and supporters of the bond proposal agree this is an unusually important election.

“It’s time for serious adults to have a serious discussion about serious issues,” said Randy Weseman, superintendent of Lawrence public schools.

Thirteen candidates for school board are scrambling for support ahead of the Feb. 25 primary election, which is expected to set the stage for a defining moment in the district.

On April 1, voters will decide if there will be a $59 million bond issue for school expansion and renovation. The record-high bond proposal includes plans to close East Heights and Centennial elementary schools.

Voters that day also will decide which four of eight primary election survivors earn four-year terms on the board. These selections are unusually significant, because the next seven-member board will deal with shrinking state funding for public schools. They’ll also grapple with aftermath of the bond vote.

“In tough times, you have tough decisions,” Weseman said.

To some folks in Lawrence, implications of the 2003 elections extend far beyond classrooms.

“This is a crucial moment in the city,” said Arly Allen, who has led opposition to the bond and candidates who support it. “If these schools are closed, it will have a profound effect on the health of the city through gradual deterioration of the neighborhoods around the university and the gradual hollowing out of the city.”

Chuck Warner, co-chair of the pro-bond group Vote Yes for Lawrence Kids, said coming to grips with issues of neighborhood viability, facility planning, district budgets, property taxes and the economy will complicate election decisions. These issues must be meshed with the goal of educating nearly 10,000 students of diverse backgrounds, he said.

Lawrence High School girls train after school for spring sports in the hallways lined with windows from the 1950s. A portion of the 9 million bond issue that goes before Lawrence school district voters in April would allocate .9 million to LHS to replace the aging windows, peeling paint, doors and stairways. The LHS girls trained Tuesday.

“There’s a lot to understand,” Warner said. “They (voters) need to be very attentive to what’s going on. This is a very important period.”

In November, the board voted 6-1 to place before voters the $59 million bond proposal.

It contains $30.2 million to replace South Junior High School, renovate Central and West junior highs and add to Southwest Junior High School.

Nearly $16 million was earmarked for renovation of Lawrence High School and expansion of Lawrence Alternative High School.

More than $9 million has been set aside to enlarge Cordley and New York schools, assuming both would have to accommodate more students if Centennial and East Heights schools were closed. Classroom additions at Broken Arrow, Deerfield, Hillcrest, Quail Run, Kennedy, Sunset Hill and Wakarusa Valley elementary schools would cost $3.6 million.

Debt related to these projects would be paid off over a 20-year period.

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Placing the bond and election on the same ballot is a valuable test of the current board’s vision for the district, said Scott Morgan, the board’s president.

“This is as close to pure democracy as we can get,” said Morgan, who is running for a second term on the board.

Two other incumbents, Sue Morgan and Mary Loveland, are in the race. The board’s dissenting vote on the bond was cast by Jack Davidson, who didn’t seek re-election.

Other candidates in the race are Cindy Yulich, Ron Powell, Michael Pomes, Leonard Ortiz, Rich Minder, Gordon Longabach, Eddie Lehman, Cille King, Samuel Gould and Brent Garner.