photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board members met on Monday, July 14, 2025.

Former school board president Kelly Jones criticized the Trump administration’s freeze on nearly $7 billion in federal education funding, warning it will severely impact support for vulnerable students and already under-resourced public schools.

On Monday, former school board president Kelly Jones shared her frustrations after the Trump administration chose to withhold nearly $7 billion in education funding for students learning English, students with disabilities, teacher’s professional development and other supports.

In the superintendent’s report, Superintendent Jeanice Swift shared the funds expected to be affected by the recent freeze: Title II, which supports the recruitment, training, and retention of teachers and principals — the district received $309,310 last year; Title III, which provides language instruction for English learners and brought in $63,185 in 2025; and Title IV, totaling $95,656 last year for improving learning conditions, technology, and student success.

This brings the total funding impacted by the freeze to $468,151. The district noted that these figures are based on fiscal year 2025 allocations, as 2026 allocations have not yet been released.

“People characterize this as being on pause,” Swift said. “I resist that language because it makes it sound innocuous. The reality is our children do not have time to wait for their growth and their opportunities, and their development is not on pause.”

Jones said this decision caught school districts off guard and shows a blatant disregard for the needs of children and public educators.

“They pulled the funding last minute, and districts everywhere are left scrambling,” Jones said. “This move undermines essential services for students, especially students from working class families, coupled with recent cuts to food stamps and other Medicaid services.”

In addition, Jones said the actions to dismantle the Department of Education are unjust and immoral. She said the students and educators deserve better than “this kind of instability.” She added that public schools already operate under tight resources, increasing demand and stripping away federal support will make this harder, especially for districts serving low-income communities.

“I think it’s important that the community hears from this particular board that it matters to us,” Jones said. ” … The Department of Education exists to help ensure that kids in rural towns, big cities and everywhere in between all have access to fair and decent education.”

Jones said eliminating the Department of Education would not create new powers for the states, and that it would weaken federal support for disadvantaged students.

“It is very clear that this is about dismantling public education, in favor of private education,” Jones said. “I see it. I think it’s wrong and it is most harmful to the kids that need it most.”

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school board elected G.R. Gordon-Ross as president of the board and Bob Byers as vice president on Monday, July 14, 2025.

In other business, school board members:

• Elected G.R. Gordon-Ross to be school board president and Bob Byers as the vice president for the 2025-2026 school year.

• Accepted a bid with B.A. Green Construction Co. Inc. to perform remodeling work at Woodlawn Elementary School, which includes constructing a restroom and an additional exit for the preschool classroom. The project will come out to a total cost of $207,749.

• Purchased ParentSquare communication software for the 2025-2026 school year in the amount of $43,128. The software is a communication platform for staff, administration and teachers to engage with families and students through a single system. As the Journal-World reported, ParentSquare has been discussed as an additional priority for the upcoming school year.

• Purchased protective cases for high school student MacBook air laptops and iPads in an amount not to exceed $200,000.

• Renewed PowerSchool software, which is used for a variety of operational and instructional needs, at an estimated cost of $350,000. According to the agenda, the tools are essential to support operational efficiency, compliance with state and federal reporting requirements and more.

• Renewed Mosyle Manager software – which enables security for Apple devices across the district – in the amount of $104,500.

• Approved a service agreement with Tech Electronics of Kansas for annual and semi-annual testing, monitoring and inspection of the district’s fire alarm systems, including kitchen hood inspections, for the 2025-2026 period. The total cost is $76,522.

• Renewed services for the district’s Cisco phone system and Webex network, which has an annual cost of $66,670. The agreement includes software maintenance, hardware replacement, technical support and more. The renewal is for the second year of a five-year existing agreement.

• Approved a Cisco service agreement with Logicalis Inc. in the amount of $32,745 to provide warranty, maintenance, and support for its network infrastructure.

• Renewed Microsoft licenses and support for the 2025-2026 school year in the amount of $66,215.

• Renewed ClassLink site licenses and ClassLink Analytics Plus software for the 2025-2026 school year at an estimated cost of $45,726. The program consolidates multiple software applications into a single login for students and staff.

• Renewed security camera software from American Digital Security of OpenEye Video Surveillance Management Software used for the district’s security cameras at an estimated cost of $43,200.

• Approved a one-year agreement with Logicalis Inc. for Webex hardware, software and licenses to support distance learning at the estimated cost of $25,000.

• Renewed the Frontline Professional Learning Management System in the amount of $32,195, which is used for the district to keep records of teacher individual development plans, in-service hours and graduate credit hours. Paraprofessionals have also been added to the system to keep track of their educational requirements.

• Renewed FMX software for a package that manages maintenance and IT work orders and tracks work order and scheduling data for a total cost of $28,444.

• Appointed Nikki Naumann as clerk of the board, Cynde Frick as district treasurer, Kiley Luckett as deputy clerk and Pam Fraley as deputy treasurer.

• Designated Brad Finkeldei of Stevens & Brand, L.L.P., as legal counsel for the 2025-2026 school year at the rate of $150 per hour.

There were regular agenda items or reports scheduled for Monday’s meeting.