Kennedy School will not be getting a new roof this summer, as members of the Lawrence school board say they don’t want to influence upcoming work on a plan to consolidate elementary schools.

Board members on Monday declined to accept a $546,737 bid from American Roofing to replace the entire roof at Kennedy, 1605 Davis Road.

Instead, board members told staffers to keep a close eye on water leaks and make spot repairs as quickly as possible. Such leaks are inevitable, as teachers have been known to place 55-gallon trash cans in their rooms to serve as catch basins.

“We can deal with these things in the short term, as long as it is short term,” said Frank Harwood, the district’s chief operations officer.

Board members said they didn’t want a roof investment to influence the upcoming work of the district’s yet-to-be-appointed Central and East Lawrence Elementary School Working Group. Among the group’s tasks will be recommending how to consolidate Cordley, Kennedy and New York schools, so that only one or two schools remain within the next two to three years.

“If you maintain the status quo, then that can be interpreted as a neutral position,” said Rich Minder, board president.

Board members did agree to hire American Roofing, for $118,673, to replace the roof over the auditorium at West Junior High School, which on July 1 will become West Middle School.