Raising teacher salaries makes a difference in the classroom, Supt. Randy Weseman said Thursday in an online chat.
"Regarding salary for teachers, you get what you pay for," Weseman wrote. "There is a good research base to support the notion that higher salaries attract (and maintain) quality teachers."
Weseman also tackled questions about such issues as student fees, full-day kindergarten, the closure of Lawrence Alternative School and school closings. He hopes to expand kindergarten to full-day.
"A full-day K program in conjunction with our current school foundation sponsored pre-school program would make a huge difference in the long-term performance of kids," he wrote.
One participant asked why a new facility for Lawrence Alternative School was included in a bond issue when the school was closed this year.
"In the first bond, the facility was to be designed as a vocational/technical facility that also housed an alternative program," Weseman wrote. "At some point, the district will still need some kind of facility to house a voc/tech program. Your question is a good one, and one that is most often misunderstood."
Weseman also said he did not predict any schools closing.
"Although it's hard to predict what the configuration of the community will be 5 or 10 years from now," he wrote.
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- More than $1M cut from budget (12-13-05)
- 6News video: Board discusses evolution, approves superintendent's raise (11-14-05)
- Weseman's contract renewed (11-15-05)
- Task force will study all-day kindergarten (11-15-05)
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- 6News video: Lawrence teachers officially get pay raise (10-24-05)
- School board approves teacher pay package (10-25-05)
- Teachers agree to 8.1 percent salary increase (10-13-05)
- 6News video: Teachers, school board reach tentative agreement (10-12-05)
- On the Street: How much do you think Lawrence school teachers should make? (10-01-05)
- More stories on school funding »»
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