The relatively new political group Women for Kansas will hold organizational meetings this week to launch a chapter in Lawrence as it gears up for the 2016 elections.

Deena Burnett, a former teacher in the Lawrence school district and a former president of the Lawrence Education Association, said the goal is to organize women to be a political force in the upcoming races.

“Most important thing is for women to hear themselves on the issues that are important to women,” she said. “For a lot of them it’s good schools; for some it’s equal rights for all citizens. The arts are important to our women’s groups. We want a fair, progressive tax system. Separation of church and state. Just some really solid core values that the women of Kansas have always appreciated, and we’ve seen those erode.”

Women for Kansas describes itself as a nonpartisan group. It began in Wichita during the 2014 election cycle and it was given credit for helping to propel the candidacy of independent U.S. Senate candidate Greg Orman.

Burnett, who retired from the Lawrence school district in 2013 and will soon go to work for the American Federation of Teachers, said Women for Kansas is now trying to organize statewide, with additional chapters opening in Salina, Manhattan and the Kansas City area.

The organizational meetings in Lawrence are scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday and 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lawrence Public Library.