photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school district offices building, located at 110 McDonald Drive, is pictured in May 2025.

The Lawrence school board next week will continue discussing its 2026-2027 budget and hear a report from staff about artificial intelligence.

Few details on either topic were shared in the agenda for Monday’s board meeting; no documents about them were attached as of Friday morning. But the agenda does say that the board will be asked to publish notice of its Sept. 14 public hearings on the budget and on the district’s intent to exceed the “revenue-neutral” property tax rate.

As the Journal-World has reported, the school district set its maximum mill levy for 2026-2027 at 52.204 mills. That exceeds the revenue-neutral rate, or the tax rate that generates the exact same amount of property tax dollars as the previous year, based on the current year’s total property values. But it’s also slightly lower than the 2025-2026 property tax rate of about 52.3 mills.

In addition to these reports, the board will be asked to approve furniture purchases for the commons and library areas of its Centennial Choice Campus, a new high school option designed for students who want more flexibility. The furniture is expected to cost roughly $89,000.

The Lawrence school board meets at 6 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Public comment is not included on Monday’s agenda, but people can share written comments with the board via email at schoolboard@usd497.org. The meeting will also be available via the school district’s YouTube channel.