Lawrence school board members approved a resolution Monday night saying it opposes moving local elections to November.

“Our current election cycle falls very nicely in line with the school’s fiscal and academic year,” said board president Shannon Kimball. “There’s a whole bunch of operational reasons for why it’s a bad idea.”

Kimball and five other members of the board approved the resolution. School board member Randy Masten was absent from Monday’s meeting.

Legislators in Topeka are again considering legislation, SB 171, that would push school board races and other local elections to November in even-numbered years and require that candidates declare party affiliations.

The resolution passed Monday argues that a school board election could not compete for voters’ attention with state and federal races going on at the same time. November elections would also disrupt operations since any newly elected members would be forced to join the board mid-school year, the resolution said.

The bill was introduced Monday by Sen. Mitch Holmes, R-St. John. Supporters say it will increase voter turnout and minimize the number of ballot variations that must be printed.

“I can’t imagine that making the ballot longer is going to increase the turnout for our race,” said board member Vanessa Sanburn.

Two members of the board — Rick Ingram and Bob Byers, both state employees — also questioned whether they would be eligible for running for the board if such a bill were passed, given that it would then be a partisan political activity. Ingram is a professor at Kansas University and Byers is an administrator for the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

“That’s a big deal,” Kimball said.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board received a report on the district’s efforts to improve its K-5 English language arts curriculum. A team of district staff, led by Angelique Kobler, the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, recommended the district purchase Reading Street Common Core, a set of instructional materials for teachers.

Kobler’s team determined that under Reading Street, the district’s K-5 English language arts curriculum would become more rigorous and more adequately meet the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards.

Kobler said the district is in negotiations with Reading Street’s publisher, Pearson Education, and expects the materials to cost “in the neighborhood” of $700,000.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board:

• Approved a new guaranteed maximum price of $6.6 million for the upcoming College and Career Center. In July the district chose to add two more classrooms to the building, which is currently under construction. The new price would ensure the interiors for that additional space will be completed by the time the building opens in August.

• Approved district staff to begin negotiations with AB Bradley Construction Co. for $1.9 million in construction at Woodlawn Elementary School. The board also approved the first of two construction bids for Quail Run Elementary School — a $1.07 million deal with McCownGordon Construction. Both projects involve new, safer entrances and various other improvements throughout the buildings.