The Lawrence school board is currently in the process of discussing whether there will be a bond put in place to fund district-wide improvements to the buildings.
On September 10, a bond was suggested to be instituted in April, beginning in many of the east and central Lawrence elementary schools.
This bond’s primary purpose is to provide select elementary schools with a building that accommodates the entire school population, as well as any tools necessary for the proper learning experience despite any budgetary issues.
“In schools like Cordley Elementary, the teachers are great and the students are still getting a good education but from a facility standpoint, that building has not had any major renovations in a long time,” Dr. Doll said.
This bond is suspected to entail a “no-tax increase” for the taxpayers, according to Superintendent Rick Doll. However, this will still restrict many taxpayers from voting to pass this bond, because in turn it will also mean no taxes will decrease.
For Lawrence High, this bond will have minimal effects initially. If the budget for the bond permits, technological improvements will be made in the local high schools.
Dr. Doll expects in the future, laptops will take over in many classrooms or iPads will also be used if the curriculum allows for it. Additionally, students may even get to opportunity to bring technology from home, with district-set restrictions.
Students who bring technology from home such as laptops or Apple products will still abide by the rules of USD 497. To be able to have access to the internet on school property, students are restricted by the websites they visit and administrators will still have access to the content looked at by each student.
However, the primarily focus of this bond to be implemented in the high schools is improvements to the school’s asthetics.
“The board has decided that they’re not going to close any more schools, and we’re not gonna build new,” Doll said. “Part of the bond will mean not building anything but new additions, but no new schools.”
The school board has given the public an opportunity to make the final veto on this bond. The voters will obviously be the tax payers.
Although this decision is one that will primarily affect the student population, many of the voters will not be faculty, parents, or administration. Voters who either have no students who are in school, or do not have students who are in some of the less wealthy schools are unlikely to vote in favor of this bond.
Despite these and other factors, this bond is inevitably beneficial for the budgets of schools in Lawrence, and may be the only opportunity for a monetary focus on education after the future elections.