Lawrence Public Schools (Shutterstock photo)

In the first session for the public to provide input on the Lawrence school district’s search for a superintendent, the topic of equity came up more than any other.

In each of the four questions posed by members of the executive search firm who facilitated the session, the importance of equity — for both students of color and of low socioeconomic status — was repeated.

The public was invited to provide input to the search firm McPherson & Jacobson LLC about community and district strengths, issues and challenges, and the desired characteristics of a superintendent to replace Rick Doll, who is leaving at the end of this school year.

One of the school district’s three main goals for the past several years has been equity, in terms of both differences in facilities across its 20 schools and in achievement between different student groups, such as low-income or minority. The $92.5 million bond issue voters approved in 2013 focused primarily on improving the oldest elementary schools in central and eastern Lawrence, and gaps in graduation rates between subgroups of students have improved over the past few years as well.

Many in attendance at the first input session, which took place at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, said those efforts were important, but if the next superintendent did not have the same level of commitment to equity, the gains could quickly be lost. Part of that is having a superintendent who relates to all communities in the district, said Annette Kenoly, Liberty Memorial assistant principal.

“(We need) someone who has some experience in working with equity issues in their district so that they’re not starting from page one,” Kenoly said, adding the district still has more work to do in that regard.

Rick Ginsberg, dean of the Kansas University School of Education, told the group he also thinks the district has significant equity issues, especially at the middle and high school levels.

“We need someone to continue what’s happening, or we’ll step backwards,” Ginsberg said.

A current issue affecting equity that several people brought up was the use of technology, such as blended-learning classrooms — which rely on a variety of digital resources for classroom instruction — as well as digital textbooks. Margaret Holdeman, a retired school counselor, said she loves technology and thinks blended classrooms are a good investment, but that there are other components to consider.

“I think that it’s a good thing the schools are investing in blended classrooms, however, the technology isn’t available to all students,” she said. “We need to have someone who knows that just because it sounds good doesn’t mean it always is good.”

More than 90 percent of students districtwide, or about 10,000 students, have one or more subjects that rely on digital textbooks. About 3,000 of those students met poverty guidelines to qualify for free lunches.

Several attendees commented that figuring out the difference between what sounds good in theory and what works in practice involves communication with a diverse group of students and teachers, and that the new superintendent would need to value a diversity of opinions.

Amy Phalen, a parent in the district, said a broader group of teachers should be asked for their feedback about changes, as opposed to a select few.

“They need to stop and ask those frontline people what’s going on and to value their input,” she said.

Underlying much of the conversation were issues with school budgets statewide and an awareness of the school funding debate that is ongoing in the Kansas Legislature. Chuck Epp said equity and the increasingly tight resources districts have are linked.

“Those will come to a head in a very challenging way, I am sure,” Epp said. “Over the next number of years we will see increasing competitions for resources: where do you put the money, what school, what type of program, what type of services. That will be a huge challenge for the next superintendent.”

There are three more public feedback sessions scheduled for Thursday:

• Noon-12:45 p.m. Multipurpose room (upstairs) at Lawrence School District Office, 110 McDonald Drive. Bring your own lunch.

• 6-6:45 p.m. West Middle School library, 2700 Harvard Road.

• 7-7:45 p.m. Southwest Middle School cafeteria, 2511 Inverness Drive.