photo by: Rochelle Valverde

Members of the Lawrence school board meet Monday, June 13, 2016, at the district's offices.

The Lawrence school board will vote to approve its budget plan for the 2016-2017 school year during Monday night’s meeting.

Under the proposed budget, 17 full-time teaching positions would go unfilled in Lawrence classrooms. The cuts, which would also include a districtwide nursing position, would save the district about $987,000 collectively. It’s a move that school board members said was necessary at July 25’s meeting, when the budget was proposed, because of inadequate state funding.

Although the district has grown, state funding has not increased along with it. Because state aid for the previous and upcoming school years was not calculated on a per-pupil basis, school districts do not automatically receive additional funds when enrollment increases.

The staff reductions make up the bulk of cost-cutting measures on the district’s proposed budget, which also includes a significant amount of deficit spending covered by the district’s cash reserves. The budget includes $2.75 million of funds from the district’s contingency reserve, a fund that functions as the district’s savings or emergency fund.

On a somewhat brighter note, the budget would also lower the mill levy by 3.165 mills, creating a decrease in the district’s property tax rate.

Other items:

• Before the public budget hearing and regular meeting, the school board will hold its annual goal-setting work session from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m. Monday at the district offices.
• The session will see the presentation of Superintendent Kyle Hayden’s districtwide workplace climate survey, in which nearly 1,000 teachers and support staff participated, as well as the results of Hayden’s post-state-of-the-district survey. For the latter, Hayden began a listening tour in May that culminated in visits with all 21 schools’ Building Leadership Teams and other staff groups about district goals, strengths and areas of improvement.

The budget approval process is set for 7 p.m., with the regular meeting proceedings taking place directly afterward, at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.