LJWorld.com

A few notes and items regarding education in the area:

Now that today is the last day of school for many seniors in the Lawrence school district, here’s something to keep your attention during the long layoff until graduation May 29:

A partial and tentative* prize list for the Project Graduation party, with drawings set for 11:30 p.m. May 29 to 2:30 a.m. May 30 at Abe & Jake’s Landing, Sixth and New Hampshire streets.

(I say tentative, because organizers say they’re still working on details... may move prizes to different time slots... will add more prizes as they receive them... and include more cash prizes as resources become available. But it’s something to get you revved up for attending.)

Anyway, here are a few highlights from the tentative list:

• The 11:30 p.m. raffle would include a 32-inch Sharp flat-screen television.

• The 11:50 p.m. raffle would include a new laptop computer.

• The 12:10 a.m. raffle would include a digital camera, an HP LaserJet 3050 Printer, and a Crest teeth-whitening kit.

• The 12:30 a.m. raffle would include a variety of gift certificates, for retailers including Best Buy, The Merc, Walmart and Weaver’s.

• The 12:50 a.m. raffle would include a $500 scholarship from the Lawrence Journal-World.

• The 1:10 a.m. raffle would include two passes to DropZone paintball park, and an Avon merchandise basket.

• The 1:30 a.m. raffle would include a Kindle.

• The 1:50 a.m. raffle would include another 32-inch Sharp flat-screen TV and a ukulele.

• The 2:10 a.m. raffle would include a cash prize, perhaps as much as $200.

• The 2:30 a.m. raffle, as it stands now, would include only two items: a larger cash prize and — for the biggest prize of the night — a 1999 limited-edition Ford Explorer, courtesy of Laird Noller Ford.

So plan ahead, seniors at Bishop Seabury Academy, Free State High School, Lawrence High School and Veritas Christian School. Gear up for the big night (and, perhaps, bigger morning). Tickets are $10 and are on sale now.

For more information about Project Graduation, visit the organization’s website at ProjectGraduationLawrence.org.

•••

Turns out teachers actually want more paperwork.

During ongoing negotiations for a new Master Agreement with the Lawrence school district, representatives for the Lawrence Education Association have asked that the upcoming agreement include that the district provide all licensed educators — that’s 926 people, as it stands right now — with printed copies of the final agreement.

This past year, the agreement has been made available only online, leaving educators and others to seek it out electronically to learn about the salary scale, expectations for collaboration time and all the other rules and regulations governing compensation, working conditions and other matters.

“A lot of people don’t even know about it,” said David Reber, a biology teacher at Free State High School, who is leading the union’s negotiating team. “It’s out of sight, out of mind.”

His proposal: Provide printed copies in each educator’s mailbox. That’s the way he remembers getting the agreement in years past, and that gave him and others the opportunity to read it at their convenience.

Frank Harwood, who is leading the district’s negotiating team, noted that the idea had a worthy goal. He’s more concerned about the impact.

“If I knew they were going to read it, I probably wouldn’t have as much of an issue,” said Harwood, joking that a counter-proposal could be “a requirement that they read it.”

Reber estimated that publishing the agreement, at 5 cents per page, could range from $4,000 to $5,000. Harwood noted that the cost likely would be 2 cents per page, dropping the estimate to more like $1,600 to $2,000.

As the talk bounced back and forth — these were negotiations, after all — both sides considered the possibility of editing out some of the legalese included in the document and replacing it with a shorter description that included a reminder to refer to the full document online or elsewhere.

That would lower the cost even more, both sides agreed.

“If more people are going to read it,” Harwood said, “it would be worth the expense — especially if we can create a ‘Reader’s Digest’ version.”

The matter will be discussed again during an upcoming negotiations session. The next one is set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive.

And in case you’re wondering: There hasn’t been as much give-and-take on some of the larger issues still on the table, such as the union’s request for each of the district’s 926 licensed educators to receive $1,500 salary increases for the coming school year.

In fact, the district doesn’t plan on issuing a formal response until it has received all of the union’s requests that would result in increased spending.

•••

Here’s a fun note from the Sandy Unruh, administrative assistant over at New York School, via Julie Boyle, the district’s communications director:

“New York Elementary faculty and staff held a bridal shower on Wednesday for four teachers and staff members who are getting married soon.

“Rauna Gleason, our kitchen manager, will marry Darrel McCoy, and Samantha Iannolo, first-grade teacher, will wed Zachary Saltz; both weddings are May 28.

“Anne Chastain, kindergarten teacher, will marry Joe Haefner on June 12, and Kristen Santilli, Title I reading paraeducator, will tie the knot with Jeff Melcher on June 25.

“Congratulations to our four New York brides-to-be.”

Copyright 2012 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.