Lawrence school board members approved new labor agreements Tuesday that significantly raise the pay for teachers and support staff while adding millions in compensation and benefit costs for the district. The agreement for education support professionals, or ESPs, included a significant increase to hourly wages. The starting hourly wage for ESP employees – including paraprofessionals, custodians and office ...
Updated on Thursday, May 28, 2026 Nearly every day people who look just northwest of the city limits can see the environmental impact of the Lawrence Energy Center – a stream of white smoke rising from the power plant’s stack. That smoke comes from the burning of coal at the power plant, and environmentalists have long been warning about the impacts that coal has on everything from air quality to global ...
Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday will consider a new truancy intervention program for elementary and middle school students who repeatedly miss school. The proposed “EveryDay Counts” program – which would be administered by Douglas County Criminal Justice Services’ Youth Services division – is designed to help students improve their attendance before their cases reach the court system. ...
Douglas County commissioners allocated $700,000 to address a shortfall at the Treatment & Recovery Center for 2026 operations on Wednesday. The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center asked the county commissioners for the one-time funding after changes to Medicaid and other funding reduced the expected revenue for the TRC. This is a reduction from Bert Nash’s previous request in December 2025, where ...
Updated on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Douglas County commissioners will revisit an allocation for 2026 operating funds at the Treatment & Recovery Center on Wednesday, and it's a smaller amount than previously proposed. The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center approached county commissioners in December 2025, as the Journal-World reported, with a request of $1 million to support operations at the ...
A Lawrence initiative has collected nearly 50 donated instruments over the last two months, but organizers hope to double that before distributing them to students next school year. This is a joint effort between Meyer Music Stores of the Kansas City area, the Duke Ellington Legacy – a jazz ensemble dedicated to performing and keeping the music of Duke Ellington alive – and Liberty Hall. The Band of ...