Austin Turney lives a tranquil life in the distinctive 140-year-old home where he grew up, and he’d appreciate an equally pleasant year as president of the Lawrence school board.

No salt-in-the-wound clashes about elementary schools that were closed in May. No bitter tangling about the $59 million bond issue rejected by voters in April. No emotional banter about thrashing the administration.

“I hope that we have a relatively quiet year,” said Turney, who assumed the board presidency Tuesday. “We should be fine-tuning.”

Turney, a retired certified public accountant, was first elected to the school board in 1997. He was re-elected to a second term in 2001 while serving his first stint as board president.

He hasn’t mapped out a rigid calendar of action for the year.

“I don’t have a particular agenda,” he said.

One reason for not setting too much in stone is the transition to a board that includes newcomers Cindy Yulich, Leonard Ortiz and Rich Minder. Two of them, Ortiz and Minder, gained traction in their campaigns by opposing school closures and the bond to build and renovate schools.

Sales tax, bond

The election produced a board with a 5-2 majority that favored the bond and closures.

Turney said he didn’t have a sense of what the new board would think about developing a new bond proposal.

“The board as a whole will decide,” he said.

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Turney said he assumed the board would serve as a melting pot of the community’s aspirations for public education. Despite potential for more board conflict than in the recent past, he wants board members to take a collegial approach to their work on behalf of nearly 10,000 students.

“I expect that it will work together in much the same way boards have worked together in previous years,” Turney said.

He said the board should spend more time exploring the possibility of a sales tax that would generate money for public school districts serving students living in Douglas County.

It could mirror a tax approved by Johnson County voters, he said.

“I’d like to see it happen,” Turney said. “If people are given the opportunity to vote for education, they’ll do it.”

Finding consensus

Turney said dedicated followers of school board meetings would notice a difference in management style from his predecessor, Scott Morgan.

Morgan, who lost a bid for re-election, simply let board members make their points and called for a vote. Turney said he would play more of a moderator role but withhold his personal views until the end of each discussion.

“When it is necessary,” he said, “I’ll try to focus on summarizing the comments of board members and finding consensus.”

He’ll also pause before votes on each agenda item to seek public comment. For many items, there won’t be any. But the move will be emblematic of his effort to show the board values diverse opinions, Turney said.

“I find the symbol to be important,” he said.

If all goes well, Turney said, he would expect the board to devote more energy to purely academic issues.

City-county cooperation

For example, he’d like to find ways for teachers to collaborate.

“So all of them are more fully aware of the needs of each student and can address them more effectively,” he said.

He also said the district would concentrate more on enacting federal reforms mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

The board might work on improving communication with city and county officials, especially regarding land-use planning. And more emphasis on vocational education programs may be in the cards, he said.

While economic and political issues could force the board in unexpected directions, Turney said he entered the year comfortable with the knowledge of one fact. He has decided not to run for re-election when his term expires in 2005.

“These have been six of the best years of my life,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the next two.”