photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board members met on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.

Lawrence school board members approved an increase to preschool programming tuition for the 2026-2027 school year on Tuesday.

The tuition cost for the next school year is $690 monthly for nine months for preschool students who do not meet the Kansas State Department of Education criteria for free attendance. The fee for 2025-2026 was $660, and the board approved the 4.5% increase to help cover the district’s cost. Preschool programming will be offered at Kennedy, New York Montessori, Sunflower, Woodlawn, Deerfield and Prairie Park elementary schools in 2026-2027.

The tuition is calculated each year based on the average district cost for a certified educator and preschool instructional aide. Swift said the district takes the increase of the cost to these programs very seriously, and understands the impacts it can have on families in the community.

Board member Kelly Jones said that while she has hoped there would be minimal changes to the program costs for families, she understood why the increase was necessary.

“I really had hoped that we would be able to keep the costs a little bit lower, but I can see that you’ve done the work to keep it as low as it needs to be,” Jones said. “So I absolutely support the increase, even though it’s not ideal for our families, but I think it’s important to continue to consider how do we well-staff the programs that we have.”

As the Journal-World reported, the district has been working to expand pre-school programming at all elementary schools.

“We’re a little more than halfway to our goal of full implementation in every school,” Swift said. “And our vision over time is a preschool seat for every child in Lawrence.”

Early enrollment for the district’s preschool programs will be open Monday, Feb. 2, through March 22. Families with preschool-aged children can explore these opportunities and apply during the enrollment period at www.usd497.org/preschool. The district anticipates acceptance notifications to be sent to families by April 1 based on eligibility and availability.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, BOARD MEMBERS:

• Delayed action on the staff and community calendars for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. For both upcoming school years, the calendars will continue with a full week off for fall break and a 10-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 Aug. 13, 2026, with the last day for K-11 on May 25, 2027; for 2027-2028, the first day will be Aug. 12, 2027, and the last day for K-11 will be May 23, 2028.

Board members wanted to delay action on the calendars for staff to gather more information on whether to add Indigenous Peoples’ Day to the calendars and whether or not it could be a paid holiday.

• Approved the school district’s participation in a 15-year, 95% tax rebate in a 5-1 vote 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.

• Adopted 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.

• Renewed 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.

• Approved 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.

• Approved 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 recommended partnering with Holmes Murphy, and said they have confidence in its 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.

• Held an executive session for the purpose of evaluation of Swift. No action followed the session.