photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

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

Lawrence school board members will consider the next phase of work for a new program at the former Centennial Elementary School on Monday.

The new program at Centennial, 2145 Louisiana St., will be called “Choice Campus at Centennial,” and it will offer alternative high school programming in the day and evening. The program would be intended to fit the needs of students who want a “nontraditional” approach, including students who want to earn more credits to graduate sooner or students who need to recover credits to stay on target to graduate in four years. The project is expected to open in August 2026.

As the Journal-World reported, board members approved a contract for planning, architectural, interior design, engineering and cost estimating services from ACI Boland Architects in the amount of $211,200.

At Monday’s meeting, the board will consider a proposal for a new phase of work for the project from Lankford | Fendler & Associates LLC in the amount of $143,875 to be paid from facilities and operations department capital outlay funds. The firm will provide mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering services to support the renovation of the existing Centennial building, according to the agenda.

The scope of services includes comprehensive design and construction-phase support for HVAC systems; interior and exterior electrical systems; emergency and egress lighting; fire alarm systems (if required); and sanitary waste, storm, vent, gas, and domestic hot and cold water plumbing systems, the agenda said.

This agenda item was included on school board members’ consent agenda, where all items are typically approved in a single motion.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, BOARD MEMBERS WILL:

• Consider approving the staff and community calendars for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. For both upcoming school years, the calendars continue a full week off for fall break and a ten-day winter break for nine-month staff, while aligning spring break with the Board of Regents and the University of Kansas.

The first full day of school will be August 13, 2026, with the last day for K-11 on May 25, 2027; for 2027-2028, the first day will be August 12, 2027, and the last day for K-11 will be May 23, 2028.

• Consider the school district’s participation in a 15-year, 95% tax rebate for the redevelopment of the Reuter Organ building at 612 New Hampshire St. and nearby properties at 614-616 New Hampshire St. in downtown Lawrence. City commissioners have approved a 22-year incentive package that includes the rebate on the new construction and a new sales tax district adding a 2% sales tax within the building, with a total value of up to $2.95 million. County commissioners also approved participation in the tax rebate.

The project’s goal is to create 10 new residential units in the larger Reuter building, with seven two-bedroom units, two studio/one-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. Four commercial units would be developed as well, distributed among the first floor, second floor, rooftop and basement. The smaller building on the south side would be redeveloped to house three commercial units.

• Consider adopting the district’s new fund balance policy, requiring the district to manage its finances so that the 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, as of June 30, 2025, the district’s operating cash balance was 18.5% of annual operating expenditures, which was calculated by the Kansas State Department of Education. This calculation includes general funds and most special revenue funds but excludes bond and interest funds, capital outlay, insurance reserves, grants and other funds not used for daily operations.

• Consider approving a tuition cost of $690 monthly for nine months for preschool students attending the 2026-2027 program who do not meet the Kansas State Department of Education criteria for free attendance. Preschool programs will be offered at Kennedy, New York Montessori, Sunflower, Woodlawn, Deerfield and Prairie Park elementary schools next school year.

The program is free to 3- and 4-year-olds that meet the KSDE eligibility requirements because the district receives preschool aged at-risk funding for these students. Students that do not meet the eligibility requirements attend by paying tuition. The tuition is calculated each year based on the average district cost for a certified educator and preschool instructional aide, the agenda said. The fee for 2025-2026 was $660, and the district is recommending the 4.5% increase to help cover the district’s cost.

• Consider renewing the Centegix Wearable Panic Alert System at a cost not to exceed $146,200. In August 2024, board members approved the districtwide implementation of Centegix into 16 buildings. The system comes with CrisisAlert badges, which are activated by a simple button press to instantly send alerts to administrators and first responders with precise location information if there is an incident on district grounds.

The badges help facilitate a swift and targeted response to incidents and enhance the district’s ability to proactively address safety concerns and ensure a secure environment for everyone in the buildings, the agenda said. The total cost of the system is $131,200 with an additional $15,000 to accommodate potential replacement badges and required equipment for the Choice Campus at Centennial.

• Consider approving the payment of site membership fees and AVID Weekly Online Subscriptions to AVID Center HQ for the 2025-2026 school year in the amount of $92,240. Advancement Via Individual Determination, AVID, is a college/career readiness framework for elementary through higher education that is designed to increase schoolwide performance and learning.

As the Journal-World reported, expanding the AVID program districtwide has been a goal of the district’s since last school year. The district has been working to expand the program to all 10 of the district’s elementary schools.

• Consider approving Holmes Murphy as the district’s fringe benefit insurance broker. The district has faced steep increases in health insurance premiums, and projections for September 2026 estimate an additional 30% increase, or approximately $4.2 million. To address these rising costs, the district began evaluating cost-saving strategies and the brokerage support needed to guide this work.

District staff are recommending to partner with Holmes Murphy, and said they have confidence in their ability to help manage the district’s health insurance challenges. Holmes Murphy will work under a flat $175,000 fee with a savings guarantee that reduces risk to the district if it decides to go uninsured.

• Hold an executive session for the purpose of evaluation of Superintendent Jeanice Swift. There will be no action following the session.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Public comment will not be 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.