photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board members met on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.

A consultant that the Lawrence school district has worked with for many years will conduct a five-year enrollment projection for the district and create a new tool to show which schools children living at certain addresses should attend.

On Monday, school board members unanimously voted to have consulting firm RSP & Associates LLC complete both of those tasks for $35,000.

The board’s meeting agenda said that the firm will project the enrollment at each of the district’s school buildings for the next five years with current boundaries, including tables, graphs and charts. RSP & Associates will also meet with county and city planners and developers to discuss land use and future development plans as part of their work.

Deputy Superintendent Larry Englebrick said the enrollment projections were not going to be exact, but should be very close. He said the work would help the district understand the demographic trends in the community, along with how development might impact the district over a number of years.

“The data prepared by RSP has been essential in our district’s obligation under the current state law of open enrollment to determine where our district can have capacity for students to transfer in and what that capacity actually is,” Englebrick said, referring to a state law that allows students to attend schools outside of the districts where they live, as long as there is space available.

Superintendent Jeanice Swift said that the firm’s work would result in “a modeling sequence that gives us information that will impact district operations going forward.” And board member Kelly Jones said she would like the final report from RSP to be shared with City of Lawrence and Douglas County leaders.

The address locator, meanwhile, will show users a map and let them get information on the schools children living at a particular property should attend. The application will be available on the district server.

As the Journal-World reported, the district has been partnering with RSP for many years to analyze enrollment and other topics related to school attendance, such as a possible boundary change for Lawrence and Free State high schools that was discussed last year but not implemented.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a new cash balance policy on first reading. The policy requires the district to manage its finances so that its projected year-end operating cash balances fall within a range of 12% to 20% of the prior year’s operating expenditures. The policy is meant to help ensure fiscal responsibility and long-term financial stability for the school district, as the Journal-World reported.

This is the first time a draft of this policy has come before school board members. Board member Shannon Kimball said the policy will help with multi-year budgeting for the district, and Jones said it will allow the board to better plan for specific things, such as an increase in wages for staff.

“There are ways in which we could have a goal set that is open and honest, and at the table, we’re all agreeing that’s our aim,” Jones said. “And it’s not something we’ve been able to achieve as it relates to wages. That’s just an example.”

• Heard a report from the Lawrence teachers union and the Kansas National Education Association in advance of the Legislature’s 2026 session in Topeka. Tom Barker, advocacy chair for the local teachers union, urged board members and staff to submit written testimony about their priorities and concerns to legislators.

• Purchased one Ford F-350 chassis from Laird Noller Automotive Inc. According to the meeting agenda, the district received a $50,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Business Builder Grant earlier this past fall to purchase a box truck supporting the delivery of baked goods throughout the district.

The new truck chassis costs $50,781, and the installation of the box and lift gate — which will take place after the chassis is received — will cost $19,064. The extra cost beyond what the grant will cover will be funded through the district’s capital outlay budget.

• Purchased middle school choir uniforms from Southeastern Performance Apparel in the amount of $21,715. The uniforms consist of a matching ensemble of black dresses and three-piece sets including a black shirt, pants and a matching school-color tie.