A few items related to elementary schools in Lawrence, as Lawrence school board members prepare to receive recommendations for the schools’ futures:

The school district has $9.375 million budgeted, right now, in its “capital outlay” fund to make repairs, upgrade buildings and otherwise improve conditions in Lawrence’s elementary schools.

In other words: Take care of items being recommended by the Lawrence Elementary School Facility Vision Task Force.

But Frank Harwood, the district’s chief operations officer, notes that the district realistically has about $3 million available for such work, given constraints on much of the remaining money.

That includes about $1 million each for:

• Technology upgrades, for items such as new computers.

• Maintenance, such as replacing water heaters or air conditioning units.

• Covering an annual payment on a $9 million “capital lease,” a loan taken out to help pay for portions of $16.3 million in improvements to outdoor athletics fields, courts and other items at the district’s two high schools. Most of the money from the lease covered the purchase and installation of turf at various fields, Harwood said.

The fund also has money included that doesn’t actually exist, Harwood said: The district includes a number, just in case the district would decide to sell an asset; having an amount in the budget would allow the district to spend the money, should some be generated

The district also likes to keep at least $2 million in the capital outlay account in case an emergency arises — something happens at a school that requires major repairs.

The budget drew interest from members of the task force, who know that Cordley School, for example, has portions of its building that are not ADA compliant. The fund could be used to finance upgrades at the school, 1837 Vt.

The district also could spend about $500,000 to make repairs this summer to the roof at Kennedy School, 1605 Davis Road. The district has bids from contractors to do just that, but no decision has been made.

The Lawrence school board has been awaiting recommendations from the task force before making decisions about major repairs at any elementary school.

“Right after they’ve made a decision about recommendations from the task force, we’ll start talking about the next steps,” Harwood said.

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Speaking of Kennedy: In mid-March, a team from the Kansas Department of Labor is scheduled to test for mold at the school.

As previously reported, members of a task force subcommittee had identified mold as a potential problem. The district hired a private contractor, whose report determined the school did not have any mold problems.

The district has yet to receive any analysis from the state, whose report will be expected to provide a more detailed analysis. Inspectors are scheduled to be on site March 10 and 11, then file their report within six to eight weeks.

“At this point, we don’t think there’s a mold problem, or we’d be taking action,” Harwood said.

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I encountered a decidedly different mood at Wakarusa Valley School on Tuesday, the day after the task force agreed to recommend that the school be closed next year.

On previous visits, I’ve seen dozens of volunteers scurrying about the gym, channeling students through an oversized “Body Venture” display that started in the mouth and exited — well — near a place one might expect things to exit. I’ve seen students get an up-close-and-personal look at the workings of a newly installed solar-thermal water-heating system, one intended to cut the school’s utility bills while giving kids a chance to see and learn about environmentally friendly technology.

Parents organize science nights, welcome Kansas University professors to share their expertise, and on and on.

While I saw plenty of understandably withdrawn looks Tuesday afternoon outside the school, I did notice one constant: The kids still smiled, still made their ways out to their parents’ — and grandparents’ — cars, and still tugged along backpacks filled with drawings and projects and homework assignments and all the other things that tend to go along with any school, anywhere.

Several task force members noted Tuesday night the building itself isn’t what’s important; it’s what happens inside the building.

Checking in with a few parents and others outside the school Tuesday, we’ll see. There’s talk of some parents exploring options for private schools next year; others wonder where their kids might end up in the public school system: either Broken Arrow or Sunflower, depending on where they live now.

It will be up to the Lawrence school board to decide whether to follow through and approve the task force’s recommendation and actually close Wakarusa Valley, which opened 50 years ago at 1104 E. 1000 Road.

Rick Doll, superintendent of the Lawrence school district, said he would expect the board to make that decision in March or April.

— The First Bell e-mailbox is always open: mfagan@ljworld.com.