Members of the Lawrence school board, City Commission and County Commission come together for a joint meeting on June 13, 2016.

At a joint meeting between city, county and school district leaders, district administrators said the issue of students lacking internet at home needs to be addressed on a broader scale.

“We talk about internet access being essential for education and the divide (between students),” Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll told attendees at the meeting Monday. “It’s also an economic development issue; it’s also a community issue.”

The school district estimates that more than 400 middle school and high school students districtwide do not have access to the internet at home.

“So all of those homes that our kiddos go home to that may not have internet access are homes that adults go home to and don’t have access,” Doll said. “And what impact does that have on their livelihood?”

Currently, the district has about 40 Wi-Fi hotspots available for students to check out, according to Jerri Kemble, assistant superintendent of educational programs and technology. Because each hotspot carries a monthly service fee, expanding the checkout program would be costly.

“Right now we have about 40 hotspots out there and they’re used all the time,” Kemble said. “But for the district to pay for 440, that’s a whole new scenario. So, that’s where our concern is.”

Some of the possible options brought up by attendees at the meeting included looking into providing internet service as a public utility, keeping school libraries open later, and partnering with community businesses and organizations to provide public spaces with free Wi-Fi.

Next school year, the district will issue iPads to all its middle school students, and a similar rollout is being planned for the high school level. Matthew Herbert, a city commissioner and teacher at Lawrence High School, voiced concern that equity issues in regard to internet access will only be exacerbated as the school district implements more technology.

“That socio-economic status piece is going to become so much more pervasive when we ask that the child to succeed with a tablet than with paper and pencil,” Herbert said. “It’s something we have to address.”

Members of the Lawrence school board, City Commission and County Commission agreed to meet again in about three months to continue discussion on improving internet access, as well as five other topics included as part of the meeting.

In other business:

• Douglas County Commission members gave an update on the expansion of mental health services and the Douglas County Jail.

All three governing bodies discussed the timing of future bond issues and elections. Both the county and the district are in the process of planning projects that could call for a tax increase.

• Douglas County Commission members provided information on interconnected food policy programs and efforts to expand access to locally grown produce.

• Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll discussed the effect of efforts to increase affordable housing options in Lawrence on the school district. Doll said scattered affordable housing, as opposed to high-concentration of housing, is preferred.

• Doll and school board President Vanessa Sanburn provided information on the impact of the district’s funding issues on the city and county. The district is the second largest employer in the city, and they said a shutdown of schools would have a negative economic impact in the community.