The community elects seven citizens from the Lawrence school district at-large to serve as members of the board of education. Each board member serves a four-year term without salary. The board's primary duties include setting educational policy, approving the district's budget, and hiring and evaluating the superintendent.

The board meets twice monthly, generally on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. These public meetings begin at 6 p.m. at the district's Educational Support Center, 110 McDonald Drive, unless otherwise announced. Board meetings are televised LIVE on LPS TV 26 (available on Midco). Patrons may watch a live stream of board meetings or view meeting video archives.

The school board appreciates patrons taking the time to talk to the board about its policies and procedures. Patrons are invited to share comments as part of the Public Comment portion of board meetings as outlined in Board Policy. Individuals who want to share comments with the board may sign up in advance by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org by 6 p.m. on the day of a board meeting or by completing the Public Comment Form available at the meeting.

Please send the following information when emailing PublicComment@usd497.org.

NAME: 
EMAIL: 
PHONE (Optional): 
GROUP/SCHOOL AFFILIATION: 
TOPIC YOU WISH TO DISCUSS:  
WILL YOU BE SPEAKING IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY: 

You may participate in person or via Webex video/phone conferencing. If participating virtually, the WebEx link for joining the meeting will be sent once this information is received.

You will receive a confirmation email on the day of the meeting that you are on the list to speak. If you have not received an email by 4:00 p.m., please reach out again or call the Board Clerk at 785-330-1992 for confirmation.

Names are added to the list in the order they are received. The Board President will decide if in-person or comments being shared virtually come first. Please indicate whether you have a student speaker, as students will be allowed to speak first.

If signing up in person, please complete the form available in the lobby and return it to the Executive Director of Communications or the Board Clerk before the start of the meeting. Forms/emails received after the meeting starts will not be accepted and will have to wait for the next opportunity for public comment.

PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURES:

For the safety of all those in attendance, the display of signs or banners will not be permitted. If you have a sign or banner, you will be asked to leave it outside the boardroom for the duration of the meeting.

The meeting is a meeting of the board held in public, not a public hearing or discussion with the board. Please be respectful of the presenters, the board, and your fellow audience members as we discuss and deliberate the items on the agenda. Comments or actions that are threatening to or disrespectful of presenters, the board, or others in attendance, including use of foul language or any other behavior that is disruptive of the board meeting, will result in immediate removal from the meeting.

Patrons will be invited to share comments as part of the Public Comment portion of the meeting as outlined in Board Policy BCBI. That time is set aside on the board’s agenda for members of the public to share their thoughts; it is not a time for dialogue with or a question and answer session with the board. Patrons who wish to participate in public comment must fill out the public comment form so that board or staff can follow up with you regarding your public comment as needed. If your comments require follow-up from the board or staff, that will occur after the meeting. The district assumes no responsibility or liability for the information shared during Public Comment. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawrence Public Schools.

In addition, USD 497 provides access to board meetings through live-streaming. The platform used for this live-streaming has acceptable use rules for content on its site. USD 497 does not delete or hide board meeting videos; however, the streaming platform may elect to do so if the content of public comment or any other portion of the meeting is found to violate the platform’s acceptable use rules.

Thank you for your cooperation in these areas.