Members of the Lawrence school board want to hear more about the possibility of creating so-called “themed” or “magnet” schools, at both the elementary and middle school levels.

Whether the initiative moves beyond initial investigation remains to be seen.

Monday night, board members acknowledged that gathering and reviewing information about at least two such programs, dual-language immersion and International Baccalaureate, could be considered as part of one of the board’s tentative goals for the coming year: to promote excellence and equity.

Board member Rick Ingram has pushed for such an investigation, and fellow board members said they would like to see basic information that would include how such programs function, whether they boost student success and how they might affect achievement in other schools.

Only after reviewing such information would they consider seeking more detailed data, such as how much the programs might cost and how they might affect overall district operations.

“These may be great ideas; they may be terrible ideas,” Ingram said. “Where we want to go may depend on what information we get.”

Other board members agreed that gathering and reviewing the basic information would help both the board and the public determine how much attention should be focused on such initiatives, if at all.

“Then we’ll know whether we want to throw this fishing line out to the community,” said Mark Bradford, board president.

Monday night, board members focused much of their goals-oriented discussion on the concept of “themed” schools, ones that would provide specialized programs and possibly be available to students seeking to enroll from anywhere in the district.

Among the ideas up for exploration:

• Dual-language immersion. Instruction at such a school would be conducted in a particular language — Spanish has been discussed in the past by supporters — and its students would be both native and non-native speakers.

• International Baccalaureate. The program, which is in place in six schools in Kansas, is organized through a nonprofit educational foundation with the stated goal of helping develop in students “the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.”

The list would by no means be limited to those two, as board member Randy Masten pointed out. He suggested a school with a performing arts focus as a potential magnet.

“Maybe there’s something else that would come along,” he said.

Such concepts would be a shift for a district where schools generally draw students based on where they live, not what programs they offer. The district does focus its English as a Second Language programs at schools such as Hillcrest and Cordley, but that’s in part because training and certifying educators at fewer sites has been considered a most efficient and cost-effective approach that produces the best academic results.

And those programs are open to all students who need them, while enrollment in dual-language immersion or International Baccalaureate likely would be limited to those who choose to pursue them.

“That’s a fairly dramatic step,” Superintendent Rick Doll said. “That’s a change.”

And the programs likely would cost more, Bradford said, further straining the already-limited resources available for “fundamental,” basic education throughout the district.

“It’s almost a luxury,” Bradford said. “It’s something above and beyond what our purpose is.”

Ingram reiterated his stance that the concepts would at least be worth exploring. An International Baccalaureate program could boost test scores, which in turn could draw people into the district and could even draw families to enroll their children in a school or schools that might otherwise not be used to its full capacity

“I think this does have to do with academic excellence and providing some opportunities for kids that we don’t otherwise do,” Ingram said. “Now, if that takes away from education at another level, then that’s problematic.”

For now, Ingram said, the district simply should gather some facts “for a more informed decision down the road.”

Such an exploration of themed schools is set to be included in a draft list of goals, a document expected to be up for approval during an upcoming board meeting.