photo by: Matt Resnick/Journal-World

Lawrence Police Sgt. Justin Trowbridge, second from right, alerts Lawrence school district officials that officers are preparing to conduct a sweep of the building, in response to a bomb threat at district headquarters on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.

The Lawrence school’s board’s biweekly business meeting on Monday ended abruptly when board members were alerted to a bomb threat that had been posted on Facebook.


Superintendent Anthony Lewis told the Journal-World he received a text message from Chief Academic Officer Patrick Kelly around 6:15 p.m., shortly after recently elected board members were sworn in, alerting him to the threat. Board president Kelly Jones called for the meeting to skip ahead to the board’s consent agenda, which was approved, and then adjourned the meeting, asking attendants to “safely exit the building” so the Lawrence Police Department could secure the site.

Sgt. Justin Trowbridge told both Lewis and Kelly that he believed it was a non-credible threat, or swatting attempt. Swatting is the action of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to have first responders dispatched to a specific location.

Lewis told the Journal-World that the threat originated from a Facebook post that was brought to Kelly’s attention by another district official, who was alerted to the post by a parent of a student. Lewis added that “the post appeared to be from another country,” and that it read “USD 497 is getting bombed.” 

“The parent was searching for ‘USD 497’ and came across that post,” he said.

Lewis also told the Journal-World that “governmental entities are being threatened in this manner, so we’re going to err on the side of caution.” 

In an email to the Journal-World, Lawrence police Sgt. Drew Fennelly said the threat was non-specific, meaning no one USD 497 site was targeted, and non-credible.

“We will be investigating the post, but we don’t like to publicly discuss non-credible threats like this because it brings more attention to the behavior, which encourages copy-cats,” Fennelly said. 

School board members sworn in

photo by: Matt Resnick/Journal-World

Four Lawrence school board members were sworn-in for new terms during Monday night’s board meeting. From left: Incumbent board members Shannon Kimball and Carole Cadue-Blackwood, and newly-elected members Anne Costello and Yolanda Franklin. Not pictured: Ronald “G.R.” Gordon-Ross.

At the start of the meeting, the board swore in four members, including a pair of new ones.

Newly-elected members Anne Costello and Yolanda Franklin joined incumbents Carole Cadue-Blackwood and Shannon Kimball for the swearing-in ceremony. Incumbent Ronald “G.R.” Gordon-Ross, who was attending the meeting via Zoom, was sworn in at the Douglas County elections office on Friday.

Costello and Franklin are new additions to the board, taking spots previously held by Paula Vann and Erica Hill.

Cadue-Blackwood, Costello, Franklin and Gordon-Ross were elected to four-year terms, while Kimball was elected to a two-year term to fill a seat vacated by former school board member Andrew Nussbaum, who resigned in 2021.

During her campaign for the seat, Costello told the Journal-World that her top priorities centered on the district’s budget, reducing class sizes and retaining and recruiting quality teachers.

“I’ve heard from teachers in my time on the Superintendent’s Advisory (Board) about how frustrated they are with these large class sizes and how difficult it is to manage, especially when we don’t have full para support for everyone who needs them, let alone having extras,” Costello said in May.

photo by: Matt Resnick/Journal-World

Newly-elected Lawrence school board member Yolanda Franklin signs paperwork after being sworn-in during Monday night’s board meeting.

Franklin, the leader of a local nonprofit dedicated to feeding the homeless, previously told the Journal-World that she plans on prioritizing staff.

“In order to truly support our students, we must begin with the everyday workers,” she said in a previous interview “Teachers, lunch staff, office staff, nurses, library aides, band and art teachers. The ones we have entrusted our children with five days a week.”

Cadue-Blackwood previously said that community engagement “on a deeper level” and a continued focus on staff wages are her top priorities going forward.

“As a board member, we really need to dig down and show this community where our priorities are with our budget,” she said during her campaign last year. “Our paraprofessionals, custodians, substitutes and food service workers are not paid very well. This will be critical to move the community forward.”

photo by: Matt Resnick/Journal-World

Lawrence school board member Ronald “G.R.” Gordon-Ross poses with family outside of the Douglas County elections office on Jan. 5, after being sworn-in to a new term on the board. Pictured next to Gordon-Ross on the right, is Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew.

For Gordon-Ross, a focus on “wages, increasing support for teachers, and preparing students for life after graduation” are his primary objectives over the next four years, he said during his campaign in 2023. Gordon-Ross, a longtime software developer, also said he wants to work to improve the safety of students and staff through technology.

Kimball, who was elected to her fourth term on the board in November, said during her campaign last year that her focus is on positive student outcomes.

“Our students deserve the best education that we are possibly able to provide to them, and that is what has motivated me to serve for the past 12 years on this board,” she said during a campaign forum last year.

Attempts to interview the newly sworn-in members on Monday were cut short by the evacuation of the building.

Inclement weather

The district announced Monday night that all buildings districtwide will be closed on Tuesday due to the likely possibility of inclement weather. Additionally, all school-related activities that had been scheduled for Tuesday have also been postponed.