Longtime Lawrence school board member explains how district’s budget crisis has unfolded
Lawrence school board Vice President Shannon Kimball took the board commentary portion of Monday’s meeting as an opportunity to provide some insight into the history of USD 497’s funding woes. The board heard from about 30 community members asking them not to close any neighborhood schools, and board members said they’d also received “hundreds” of emails. “In many of the emails that I’ve received and conversations I’ve had since the beginning of the year, the community has asked, ‘How did we get here and why are we having these conversations now?’ I’m going to talk about that a little bit because, of all the board members here, I’ve been on the board throughout all these conversations, and I have some things to share.” In her speech Monday, Kimball – who was first elected in 2011 — addressed the complex factors that have created this budget crisis over the last decade, including repercussions of Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration, a lack of reserve funds, enrollment declines, and paying teachers competitive wages.
Source: The Lawrence Times
