photo by: Journal-World

The Lawrence school board will meet on Monday at the school district offices, 110 McDonald Dr.

After a snowy week with four days of school cancellations, the Lawrence school board will be discussing what the next steps might be and whether the district might need to make up time in the calendar.

The school district canceled classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week after last weekend’s winter storm dropped a layer of ice and about a foot of snow in Lawrence. Then, after one day of classes on Thursday, it canceled school again on Friday after more snowfall and refreezing of wet surfaces.

At Monday’s board meeting, the board will be receiving an update from staff about the inclement weather days and how they might affect the district’s schedule going forward.

The state requires a minimum number of instructional hours per year for K-12 students, but a memo in the board’s meeting agenda says the concern right now is not the precise number of hours. Rather, it says, the concern is how early in the season the cancellations have happened.

Going forward, the memo says the board will receive an update about the effects on the school calendar once a month, “or more frequently as needed depending on unfolding events.” It also notes that the district has a potential make-up date built into its calendar on Monday, April 21, if needed.

“Any needed adjustments to the calendar, such as announcing the use or release of the April 21 make-up school calendar date will be announced no later than the beginning of spring break, March 14, 2025,” the memo states.

In other business, board members will:

• Consider approving the purchase of 17 automated external defibrillators, backup batteries and pads for district buildings.

The defibrillators and other equipment would cost $27,863, and the funding for them would come from a Safe and Secure Schools grant. According to the meeting agenda, the district’s health coordinator worked with building administrators, nurses, and other staff to figure out how many defibrillators would be needed to align with the recommendations of the American Heart Association, which says defibrillators should be accessible within three minutes in the event of a cardiac arrest.

• Consider two contracts for special-education-related services, one for $60,000 with AMN Healthcare and another for $30,000 with Cornerstones of Care.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. The meeting will also be available via the school district’s YouTube channel. Residents who want to share comments with the board may sign up in advance by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org by 6 p.m. Monday and may participate in person or via Webex video/phone conferencing.