photo by: contributed

Shannon Kimball

Veteran Lawrence school board member Shannon Kimball has accepted a position with the Kansas Association of School Boards as a government relations specialist.

Lawrence school board President Kelly Jones announced Kimball’s hiring during Monday night’s board meeting.

Kimball told the Journal-World after the meeting that she would start her role with the Topeka-based not-for-profit organization on Jan. 3 and would likely be spending significant time at the Kansas Statehouse attending committee hearings.

In addition to tracking legislation, Kimball said that she may also “write testimony or testify” on issues pertinent to public education in the state.

According to its mission statement, KASB seeks to “provide board members and school district leaders with the support, expertise, and resources they need to help every Kansas student succeed in school and in life” and also focuses on “improving educational outcomes” in public schools.

Last week, Kimball was elected to her fourth term on the Lawrence school board, defeating Ariel Miner for a two-year seat. Kimball has 15 years of experience serving in various public leadership roles, including as a member of KASB’s board of directors from 2016 until January of this year.

During Monday’s meeting, Jones said that Kimball’s hire was “a huge deal and great benefit to our district.” Jones added that the district should now be better apprised of “what’s happening at the state level” and that “Kansas will benefit greatly” from Kimball’s service.