photo by: Matt Resnick, Journal-World

Candidates vying for a vacant seat on the Lawrence school board await their turn to be interviewed at the Lawrence Public Schools meeting on June 26, 2023. From left are Paul Carttar, Rebekah Gaston, Robert Byers and Rachel Thomas.

The Lawrence public school board has appointed Robert Byers to fill a vacant seat at its table.

Byers edged out three other finalists during Monday night’s Lawrence school board meeting and will fill a seat that was vacated by Kay Emerson in late May.

Each candidate was asked a series of questions and allotted two minutes per response. After an initial 15-minute recess that allowed members to individually deliberate on the decision, the board was forced into a second recess after both Byers and Paul Carttar received two first-place votes apiece. But it was Byers who emerged on top, outlasting Carttar in a double tiebreaker.

The process will conclude when Byers is sworn-in at the board’s July 10 meeting, with his term running through mid-January 2026.

Byers was the lone candidate to receive a vote from all six board members during a June 20 special meeting that trimmed the applicant list from eight to four.

While discussing the qualities they were seeking in their ideal candidate, several board members noted that familiarity with K-12 education and board governance were high on the list.

Byers has served two previous stints on the Lawrence school board — from 2009 to 2013, and was appointed to fill a vacant seat in 2014 — serving out the final year of the term. During his combined tenure, Byers spent time as the board’s Negotiation Committee and Equity Council representative, but lost his reelection bid on both occasions.

In a 2015 Ballotpedia survey, Byers indicated that a balanced budget was his top priority, while ranking the expansion of arts education and school choice options at the bottom.

Byers told the board that achieving a balanced ledger was a top priority — and that he was formerly a master’s level social worker with expertise in the area of child welfare program development and budgeting at the state and local levels.

“I’ve had years of experience of understanding how school finance actually works, and I think that’s something that I would bring to the board,” he said.

During his opening remarks, Byers told the board that he views the role as a continuation of his service to the community, having spent much of the past 40 years involved with the Lawrence school district in various capacities.

“To me, this is a continuation of that experience,” Byers said. “A continuation of allowing me to serve the community.”

Byers noted that fostering a safe learning environment for students is another top objective.

“One of the functions of a school is to give a child a place where they can be secure and be safe — and know that someone will be listening and help them,” Byers said, after being pressed for additional context to his original reply.

Carttar followed Byers at the podium, telling the board that he has a profound appreciation for the myriad and unprecedented challenges they are confronting.

Carttar said that his experience in the nonprofit sector would translate well to the role of a board member — while also touting himself as a problem-solver of complex issues.

“Our citizenry cares,” Carttar said. “At the same time, the differences are pretty significant. The shortest path to building consensus starts at the top with the most basic questions and priorities.”

After the dust had settled, Byers told the Journal-World that he was happy to be joining the board for a third time.

“I bring some experience that I think could be beneficial,” he said.

In other business, the board approved:

• An updated version of its facility rental guidelines. Community groups seeking to hold events or meetings on district premises must comply with the district’s rental fee guidelines.

Rental fees are calculated by hourly rate and differ based on entity and usage-type. For example, for-profit organizations are charged a higher hourly rate than nonprofit — and fees for school-sponsored events, charity, and youth services groups may be waived — depending on the facility requested for use.

The guidelines also addressed non-permissible activities. Fireworks and access to locker rooms are a few items listed that are prohibited. Animal shows and music concerts are examples of events that are likely not compatible with the rental guidelines.

• Approved a memorandum ratifying the district’s alliance with the Lawrence Police Department and City of Lawrence to provide school resource officers (SROs) in district buildings for the 2023-24 school year at no charge. SROs are primarily staffed at the two high schools and middle schools. The item was pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion at the request of Carole Cadue-Blackwood. Her primary concerns, she said, were related to transparency. She pointed to a section of the MOU detailing instructional programs presented by SROs — related to tobacco, alcohol and drugs, as well as violence prevention.

Cadue-Blackwood also inquired as to whether funds from the district’s six-figure Juul settlement will be used for those purposes.

“It could be,” said Superintendent Anthony Lewis. “The Juul settlement has to be used for the purposes of that type of prevention.”

• The board heard a presentation from district administrators on its needs assessment for each building — a state-mandated report that needs eventual board approval in order for the district to maintain its accreditation-status. The overview delved into areas such as building head-counts and state assessment scores.

The topic of state assessment scores was also broached when the board was delivered a fourth quarter equity update.

• During his superintendent’s report, Lewis announced that the district had received a certificate from the Kansas State Department of Education acknowledging the district’s accreditation for a five-year period. Lewis said that the district’s accreditation-status should not be taken for granted, calling it a “rigorous process.”

“This certainly represents the dedicated focus on our strategic plan,” he said.