photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Members of the public participate in a rally outside of district offices, 110 McDonald Dr., to show support for neighborhood schools ahead of a special school board meeting on Feb. 21, 2023.

Superintendent Anthony Lewis told the Lawrence school board he would not be recommending any administrative cuts or a change to a four-day school week as part of next year’s budget cut package. However, because potentially closing multiple schools is still an option, some school board members asked that equity information be provided before they are asked to make decisions.

As part of a special meeting on Tuesday, the Lawrence school board received a budget scenario created by a committee through a consultant-led process. The budget scenario calls for 10 cuts that would total between $7.56 million and $9.52 million and includes closing or repurposing two unspecified elementary schools and one middle school; increasing class sizes at the middle and high school levels in order to cut dozens of teaching positions; and transitioning to a four-day school week for students.

Ultimately, the board will make final decisions regarding budget cuts, but Lewis will bring his recommendation to the board for consideration on Monday. Though a community survey and polling of committee members have shown support for reducing spending on administration, with 69% of members supporting those cuts, Lewis said his recommendation would not include cuts to administration. He said that was in part because some cuts to administration were made as part of last year’s budget cuts. Ninety staff positions were cut last year, including 72 teacher positions, 11.5 classified staff positions and 6.5 district-level administrative positions.

“This board hired me to run an efficient school district, but first and foremost be fiscally responsible with our resources and our facilities,” Lewis said. “In addition, (the board) hired me to provide leadership in developing the most effective program that will benefit our scholars, staff and families. And after having cut over half million dollars last year, and we did some restructuring the year before that, I would not recommend that.”

Lewis also said that a change to a four-day school week for students would definitely not be taking place next year, though he noted the district’s calendar committee continues to consider those changes. Lewis added that the increase in class sizes at the middle and high school levels (elementary class sizes were increased with last year’s budget cuts) would likely be modified. He noted that the committee was roughly split on that change and the equity review recommended against it.

The committee’s process to arrive at the 10 budget cuts began with a larger list of budget reduction options provided by the district and a recommended scenario from district administrators. Changes were made to the administrators’ scenario through various group activities that were led by a district-hired consultant, RSP & Associates. The 39-member committee consists of 15 parents or guardians, eight district staff members who are also parents or guardians, six community members, four district administrators, four district teachers or other certified staff members and two students.

The committee was polled on whether it supported implementing the 10 cuts “at any point in the future.” More than half of the committee members who participated in the voting indicated support for nine of the cuts, with the exception being the four-day school week, where 53% stated they did not support the cut. The increases in classroom size at the middle and high school level were also roughly split, with only 52% indicating support. Comments were also gathered and provided in summary form to the school board.

In addition to the 10 cuts, the board also received the results of an equity review about all of the cuts in the scenario, in which small groups of about four or five committee members each reviewed one of the cuts. The equity review resulted in recommendations against four of the cuts: increasing class sizes at the middle school level; increasing class sizes at the high school level; eliminating middle school plan time; and a four-day school week for students. The activity indicated the remaining options could or should be cut.

As part of the meeting, district staff asked what additional information the board needed before providing direction regarding budget cuts as part of its meeting on Monday. Below is a summary of the information board members requested, as well as some of their additional comments. Multiple school board members asked for information about equity issues.

Carole Cadue-Blackwood: Cadue-Blackwood asked to see which schools have the highest needs, specifically asking for information on enrollment in the free and reduced meal program and the number of students with individual learning plans.

GR Gordon-Ross: Gordon-Ross said that instead of bringing the board a list of four or five schools that could be closed, he would like district administrators to come to the board with a final plan of which schools they recommend closing. He said he thought uncertainty for the community should “stop sooner rather than later” regarding closures. He added that, personally, he thought trying to close two elementary schools and repurpose a middle school before August was a little much to take on.

Kay Emerson: Emerson said there was high interest in the possibility of combined grade centers from the public survey and the committee, and she would like to know the viability of that option. She also said that she would like to know which middle school the district is considering closing and why, and that she wanted to know how the district would restructure to improve efficiencies if it is not going to recommend reducing administrators.

Kelly Jones: Jones said she agreed with Gordon-Ross that the timeline for a decision to close three schools was pressing for both the operations of the buildings as well as the mental health of the community. If the district were to combine one or two elementary schools, Jones said she wanted to know what the impact would be on multi-age classrooms and the even distribution of class sizes. She asked to know what positions would be cut and whether specials teachers or administration would be shared across buildings. She also expressed a desire for closures not to impact students who have already had to transfer schools because of recent closures. In addition, she said she would want to know that savings from closures would be dedicated primarily to wages and the district’s contingency reserve funding. She said that working conditions and duties for teachers would also need to be considered, because she said the point was to increase wages and provide a good working environment. Regarding the potential middle school closure/repurposing, she said she would like to see the district take another year to discuss changes so that something innovative that would have a positive impact on kids and teachers could be developed. Jones also wanted to know which jobs would be preserved or cut with the various cuts and how shifts in boundaries and transportation would affect estimated savings from closures.

Past President Erica Hill: Hill asked that some kind of equity analysis be completed for each school if the district recommends specific schools for closure. She said she would like to look at what people might experience at specific schools, because the equity analysis completed by the committee group only looked at elementary closures in general.

School Board Vice President Paula Vann: Like Hill, Vann asked that the district make an effort to use equity analysis tools on the specific schools it may recommend for closure.

Board President Shannon Kimball: Kimball said she knew that district staff had more knowledge about the specifics of the district’s operations and the potential impact of the changes on students than probably any of the board members or the members of the committee. She said she wanted to see a plan that meets goals the district set to accomplish with the process while doing the least amount of harm to the student experience and student learning. Those budget priorities were increasing staff wages, providing money to cover annual cost increases, and increasing district cash balances. Kimball also said she’d like boundary changes related to closures to do a better job balancing the socioeconomic status of students across the district’s buildings.

The Lawrence school board will vote on which cuts to move forward with, including whether to conduct public hearings regarding specific school closures, at its meeting on Monday. The board will not vote on whether to close specific schools until after the public hearings are held.