photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board members met on Monday, April 28, 2025.

The Lawrence school board approved class size targets and enrollment projections for the 2025-2026 school year.

On Monday, the school board approved the superintendent’s annual recommendations on student-to-teacher ratios, school capacity, and enrollment projections for the 2025-2026 school year, a process required before May 1 each year. The desired range of class sizes declares Kindergarten, 18-22 students; Grades 1-2, 19-26 students; Grades 3-5, 20-27 students; Grades 6-8, 22-28 students; and Grades 9-12, 23-29 students.

The board members set grade-level ratios for each school building based on the superintendent’s report, anticipated student enrollment, and the availability of seats for nonresidents at each grade, building, or program level, as outlined in the agenda. Additionally, Swift had presented district enrollment data to the board on Feb. 24 which helped inform the class size decisions.

“This is an informal range, not saying that it’s written in stone anywhere, but it is based on where we try to keep our class sizes,” Swift said. “The most important declaration that we’ll make this evening is that staffing will follow student enrollment in order to maintain desirable class sizes.”

According to a memo in the agenda, the district projects 4,189 elementary, 2,197 middle, and 3,105 high school students for the 2025-2026 school year — figures that are all lower than current-year enrollment.

photo by: Screenshot

The number of students expecting to attend the Lawrence school district for the 2025-2026 school year.

Enrollment in the Lawrence school district has dropped by 1,571 students between the 2018-2019 and 2024-2025 school years — from 11,929 to 10,358 — but data shared Monday showed a 6% increase in preschool enrollment for 2024-2025.

According to the guiding principles for enrollment in the district, priority enrollment is reserved for students living in one of the school’s attendance zones or school neighborhoods. The next priority is given to transfer students from within the school district, while the final priority is given to families who are nonresidents of the district.

As the Journal-World reported, Kansas has mandated open enrollment statewide to allow families to move their children to their desired schools. The law was passed in 2022 and went into effect this past year. The district currently serves 97 students who have gone through the transfer process to transfer into the district’s schools from outside the district boundaries.

Swift said that it appears the Lawrence school district has not had a significant change in enrollment with the new open enrollment law in place.

“(It’s) really quite unusual when I look at states across the country that Lawrence and other districts were already opening their doors, and so this isn’t a big shift in the way that we do business,” Swift said.

In other business, school board members:

* Approved additional construction costs totaling $9,160 to BA Green Construction’s bid for simulated life skills apartments at Community Connections at Pinckney – a program focusing on bridging the gap between high school and adult life for students with disabilities. The funding will address unforeseen issues that may arise during construction/repairs.

At the school board’s meeting on Sept. 23, 2024, board members approved the construction bid, but once the project was underway, there were additional costs associated with the installation of shower units for the project. If the funding is not fully utilized, the total project cost will be adjusted accordingly, according to the agenda.

* Approved the purchase of playground equipment totaling $79,023 from Aspire 2 Play LLC for two pre-kindergarten classrooms. During the March 24 board meeting, members discussed the addition of pre-kindergarten programs at Woodlawn and Sunflower Elementary Schools. This expansion created a need for age-appropriate playground equipment to support the developmental needs of the incoming students, as outlined in the meeting agenda.

* Approved the purchase of two utility vehicles from McConnell Machinery Co. Inc., in the amount of $60,777, to be used at Lawrence’s two high schools. Current utility vehicles are nearing 20 years of age and experiencing multiple mechanical issues, the agenda said.

* Approved the purchase of four tractors with each tractor including a snow blade and blower attachments, which will be effective in operating on sidewalks and in varying weather conditions, from Deere & Company in the amount of $42,702 to be used at the Lawrence middle schools.

* Approved the first reading of a new policy requiring Lawrence school district employees to carefully manage financial resources and support measures to prevent and detect fraud.

* Renewed medical, dental and vision plan benefits at the cost of $832 per month per qualifying part-time employee, which will be effective Sept. 1.

* Did not include public comment in their agenda for Monday’s meeting, however, it will be included in the May 12 meeting agenda and there wasn’t a reason why it was not included.