To the editor:

The March 7 letter, “Classroom funds,” suggests that the Lawrence school district allocates only 55 percent of funds “to classrooms” when the national average is 61.5 percent. This comparison lacks merit since it fails to cite what constitutes “classroom dollars.”

In the Lawrence school district, 100 percent of funds support classrooms. Of the district’s general operating funds, 86.3 percent supports wages and benefits. The 13.6 percent that is non-wage related covers transportation, utilities, operations and maintenance, instruction, technology, human resources, general administration, instructional support, student support, site administration, and business, warehousing and printing services.

The figure cited by the author doesn’t include instructional support for the classroom provided by the building principal and school office staff, counselors, social workers, nurses, psychologists, speech pathologists, audiologists, librarians, etc. It doesn’t include custodians who clean the classrooms, security officers who ensure school safety, or food service personnel who prepare and serve meals to students. These are all general-fund expenditures that support classrooms.

The author asks why the district is asking for $63 million through bond issues. Bond issues raise capital outlay dollars for land acquisition, construction, repair, remodeling, and furnishing and equipping school buildings. Capital outlay funds may not be used for general-fund expenditures. Maintaining schools is a local responsibility. The school board levies 6 mills annually for capital outlay. School bond issues are required to fund major facility and equipment needs, such as the April 5 bond issues for constructing, remodeling and equipping classrooms.

Randy Weseman,

superintendent of schools,

Lawrence