From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 24, 1989:

• Lawrence made its first big step away from its long-time status as a one-high-school town this week. School board members voted 6-1 to seek voter approval for a bond issue to build a second high school. Larry Morlan, who cast the dissenting vote, had been a strong supporter of building a fourth junior high and/or expanding Lawrence High School at its present site, options which would not place unnecessary burdens on taxpayers and also would not divide the community. Board members were still undecided on whether the new school would be built on the 50 acres of district land about one miles west of 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive. The board also had not yet discussed potential boundary lines for the high school districts.
• Reactions at LHS to the school board’s decision ranged from disappointment to relief, said principal Brad Tate. “A lot of things have been held up by not knowing where the ninth-graders would be,” Tate said. Four LHS teachers today said that splitting the school would hurt the band program, result in fewer class offerings, and eliminate LHS as a high school football power.