Education

School board to study plan for district audit

The Lawrence school board will meet at 7 p.m. today at the school district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive.

Board members are scheduled to:

• Consider approving up to $21,200 to pay for an audit of school district money. An accountant from Lowenthal, Singleton, Webb & Wilson will attend the meeting to explain the proposal and answer questions.
• Hear a report on the school district’s gifted education program. The report recommends, among other things, that the district develop a consistent gifted curriculum framework and improve communication with parents.
• Meet the new Kennedy School principal, Felton Avery.
• Honor Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Del Monte Foods and Gould Evans Associates for their work with Pinckney School students.

Board members are scheduled to go into executive session at the end of the meeting to talk about negotiations and personnel.

Kansas University

Students headed Into the Streets

KU’s Center for Community Outreach has set up several events this week to connect students with volunteer opportunities in the area. Events today are:

• Animal Outreach Table, noon and 3 p.m., Wescoe Beach.
• Read Out, 3–5:30 p.m., Boys and Girls Club, 1530 Haskell Ave.
• Senior Talent Show, 4 p.m., Lake View Manor, 3015 W. 31st St.

Award

Businesses eligible for environmental honor

Nominations now are being accepted for a new award that will honor a Douglas County business for efforts to create a cleaner and more sustainable community.

Imagination & Place, a collaborative effort of artists, environmentalists, community activists and scholars is seeking nominations for the Imagination and Place Environmental Award.

A business will be honored during a ceremony at the Lawrence Arts Center on April 22, which is Earth Day. The winner will receive an original piece of artwork created by Lawrence artist Paul Hotvedt.

Nomination forms, available at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. or at www.LawrenceRecycles.org, are due by April 1.

Forum to discuss Ukraine elections

The recent elections and protests in Ukraine will be the topic of a roundtable discussion today at Kansas University.

“The Orange Revolution of Ukraine” will be from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall, Room 318.

Participants will include Natalia Chernysh, professor of history and sociology at Ivan Franko National University in Ukraine; Paul D’Anieri, political science professor at KU; Erik Herron, assistant professor of political science at KU; Olha Rovenchak, doctoral candidate at Ivan Franko National University; Anatoly Romanyuk, professor of history and sociology at Ivan Franko National University; and Alex Tsiovkh, assistant professor of Russian and East European studies at KU.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European Studies at KU.

State task force on meth formed

A new state task force has been formed to determine how to address the problems of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs.

The Kansas Task Force on Methamphetamine and Illegal Drugs was recently announced by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The task force’s first meeting will be Tuesday at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Topeka.

Co-chairing the committee are KBI Director Larry Welch and Kansas Highway Patrol Supt. Col. William Seck. Others on the committee are: Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky, Patrol of the Department of Health and Environment Rod Bremby, Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton, Rice County Sheriff Steve Bundy, Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue, Great Bend Police Chief Dean Akings, Wyandotte County Dist. Atty. Jerome Gorman, Topeka High School Principal Clardy Vinson, Highway Patrol Lt. Ray Bailiff, KBI agent Steve Rosebrough, KBI forensic lab employee Dwain Worley, Sedgwick County Judge Joe Kisner, Shawnee County physician Dr. Eric Voth and Christi Cain from the Shawnee County Meth Prevention Program.