Lawrence USD 497 school board

The Lawrence school board on Monday voted unanimously to pass a resolution that authorizes and calls for a bond election this spring. The 2017 bond issue, which includes $87 million in improvements to Lawrence’s secondary schools, will now pass to district voters May 2.

The projects outlined in the bond issue, also approved Monday night as part of the district’s 2017 Capital Improvement Plan, address the needs of aging middle schools and high schools. The upcoming bond issue follows one passed in 2013 that entailed a $92.5 million renovation of Lawrence’s elementary schools.

“Now it’s time to do the same thing in our secondary schools, particularly Lawrence High School, which is significant in the amount of work that needs to get done,” said Marcel Harmon, school board president.

The 1950s-era Lawrence High School will receive the bulk of the bond issue’s $87 million total budget, Harmon said. He estimated that well more than $40 million would be spent on the school. Those improvements would include enlarging classrooms, modernizing the school’s library, and upgrading mechanical, electrical, plumbing and roofing systems, as well as renovations to the annex, auditorium, gym, fine arts, and career and technical education areas.

Changes would also be made to create a safer, more secure campus. As of this school year, Harmon said there are more than 30 entry points to the school.

“And it’s not equitable with Free State High right now,” Harmon added, referring to the newer, more suburban school that would receive added classrooms and parking as part of the bond issue. “So, it’s really critical to make improvements for the quality of the education we provide to students, and the quality of the environments that the teachers have to work within.”

If passed by district voters in the May 2 election, the bond issue would also include modernized libraries and new collaborative learning spaces — as well as improved mechanical, electrical, plumbing and roofing systems — at Lawrence’s four middle schools.

The public has already expressed support for the 2017 bond issue, with about three-quarters of the 400 respondents in a district-commissioned survey stating their approval of the $87 million project.

In other business, the board:

• Heard a report from Patrick Kelly, the district’s director of innovative learning, that examined course options for Lawrence high school students. The presentation was intended to generate questions and feedback from board members, and will be revisited at the board’s next meeting on Jan. 23.