Lawrence caregiver Tierra Teske has filed to run for the Lawrence school board. Teske, who is originally from Wamego, moved to Lawrence about five years ago to attend the University of Kansas. She said she’s known since about then that she wanted to run for office, and it’s her desire to help people that underpins that goal. “I knew I wanted to run for office about four or five years ago,” Teske said. ...
During budget reductions over the last two years, five band, orchestra and choir positions have been cut from the district’s secondary schools, calling for some teachers to split time between schools and the combination of some grade levels into one class. There is the potential for more cuts to be made, resulting in reductions to the district’s performing arts staff that could surpass 20%. Some involved ...
Lawrence IT professional and self-described regular parent Edward “E.J.” Gonzales has filed to run for the Lawrence school board. Gonzales, who is originally from Topeka, moved to Lawrence in 2002 to attend the University of Kansas. He has four kids in the district, and it’s his experience as a parent that motivated him to run for school board, specifically having to witness his son’s heartbreak when ...
The Lawrence school board has received eight applications to fill the vacant seat of recently resigned board member Kay Emerson and will soon meet to select which applicants they want to interview. The board will discuss the applications and select applicants to interview at a special meeting on Tuesday. The interviews and selection of the person to fill the seat will take place at a subsequent meeting. The ...
Longtime Lawrence school board member and current board President Shannon Kimball has filed for election to a two-year term on the board. Kimball, who was first elected in 2011, said she continues to have a steadfast commitment to supporting public schools, and believes she has the expertise and experience to continue progress on the district’s priorities. Those include goals for student achievement and ...
Story updated at 9:37 p.m. Wednesday, June 14: The Lawrence school board has agreed to a proposal that would provide about $3.6 million to increase teacher pay — amounting to an average raise of more than $3,600. The additional dollars will provide raises for virtually all teachers and also catch up teachers who missed raises in recent years due to the district’s budget challenges. The school board came to ...
Regular public commenter Chris Flowers has filed to run for the Lawrence City Commission. Flowers, who grew up in Plainville, moved to Lawrence in 1999 to attend the University of Kansas. Flowers has regularly attended City Commission meetings for the past few years, where he frequently makes public comment. Flowers, who ran unsuccessfully in 2021, said he was motivated to run again after a recent commission ...
The Lawrence school district will have about $7.8 million more in funding for the upcoming school year — about half from budget cuts and half from additional state funding — with the possibility of adding another $1.2 million to that figure. Coming months will see just how district leadership will spend those new funds. The Lawrence school board received an update on district finances as part of its ...
The Lawrence school board will soon receive a budget update and meet in executive session to discuss pending wage increases for the district’s teachers and staff. As part of its meeting Monday, Cynde Frick, the district’s executive director of finance, will provide a budget update to the school board. A memo to the board states that the update will include the 2022-2023 Kansas State Department of Education ...
Near the site of where a 14-year-old Black girl was falsely convicted of crimes against her rapist, a marker now stands. What it stands for is many-fold: the sexual violence that Black women and girls suffered at the hands of white men, the further victimization from an unjust justice system, and ultimately, the tragic story of a girl known as Sis that for many years went untold. At a dedication for the ...
The Lawrence City Commission will not meet for its regularly scheduled meeting this coming Tuesday. The commission typically meets the first three Tuesdays of the month, but last month voted to cancel the June 13 meeting because two members of the governing body, Mayor Lisa Larsen and Commissioner Amber Sellers, will not be present for the meeting. Both will be attending conferences next week. Larsen will be ...
Software developer and current Lawrence school board member Ronald “G.R.” Gordon-Ross has filed for election to the school board. Gordon-Ross, who previously served on the board and was appointed last year to fill a vacant seat, said that he thinks he has insight and knowledge that can help the board as it continues to respond to enrollment declines in the district. “Everything we do should lay a ...
Story updated at 8:54 p.m. Thursday, June 8: The Lawrence school district and its classified staff union have agreed to provide $2.58 million toward wage increases for district staff, which provides a minimum raise of $2.12 per hour for staff but falls short of the union’s proposal to commit $7 million toward raises. Representatives for the Lawrence school district and the Personnel Association of ...
A dedication ceremony for the historical marker that tells the story of Margaret “Sis” Vinegar, a 14-year-old Black girl imprisoned after her 1882 rape, will take place on Saturday. The ceremony will include multiple speakers, including local leaders and those involved in the project to create historical markers for Margaret as well as three Black men who were lynched by a white mob in the wake of ...
Former nonprofit board member and community volunteer Dustin Stumblingbear is running for election to the Lawrence City Commission. Stumblingbear, a veteran who now spends a lot of his time volunteering, said he understands the importance of city government and its impact on people’s daily lives, and he is willing to bear the weight of those decisions on behalf of the community. Stumblingbear has run for ...
In what could potentially result in added delay for the project, the City of Lawrence did not receive any bids from social service agencies interested in operating a temporary shelter site the city plans to open on North Michigan Street. Danelle Walters, Planning and Development Services assistant director with the city’s Housing Initiatives division, informed city leaders of the outcome of the city’s ...
About 30 people called on city leaders to not enforce a far-reaching transgender bathroom ban set to go into effect in July and declare Lawrence a sanctuary city for transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people. Those asking the city to take action filled City Hall as part of the Lawrence City Commission meeting on Tuesday, and spoke passionately about the need for protections in the face of the ...
Lawrence city leaders worked to refine a draft ordinance that would ban single-use plastic bags, and an updated ordinance will come forward for consideration later this month. The Lawrence City Commission provided feedback on the draft ordinance as part of its meeting Tuesday. That draft ordinance covers what types of bags would be prohibited, what businesses would be subject to the ban and how the ordinance ...
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health clinic assistant Rachel Stumblingbear has filed for election to the Lawrence school board. Stumblingbear, who grew up in Gladstone, Missouri, and moved to Lawrence in 2009 to attend the University of Kansas, serves as a clinic assistant for the WIC Nutrition Program, a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. Stumblingbear said she meets a lot ...
After expressing support earlier this year for moving forward with a ban on single-use plastic bags, city leaders will soon review particulars of a draft ordinance, including the process, fines and costs associated with enforcing the ban. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will receive an update on the single-use plastic bag draft ordinance and provide direction to city staff ...