Lawrence schools adopts $102.44 million budget

Among the many items included in the proposed $102.44 million Lawrence School District budget are an increase in security personnel, $4 million in capital improvements, a high school sports wing and adding Mandarin as a language elective.

The Board of Education unanimously adopted the fiscal plan at the April 16 meeting. It includes a 1.65 spending increase over the current $100.78 million budget. The tax-cap increase is 0 percent and the tax levy — the amount of money collected through property taxes — is expected to be $86.15 million. State aid will increase $950,000, officials said.

Enrollment is 2,713 students and breaks down to 936 in Lawrence High School, 585 in the middle school, 587 in the elementary school, 313 in the primary school and 292 in the Early Childhood Center.

“We’re pleased to be able to offer enhance educational opportunities for our students and continue out capital expenditure program, while not burdening the residents with an increased tax levy,” BOE President Murray Forman said. “We believe we at the cutting edge, providing 21st century security that today’s schools require and we are constantly looking to improve it.”

Superintendent Dr. Ann Pedersen said that the budget is built on what she called the “three pillars,” safety and security, educational excellence and fiscal responsibility. “We are constantly looking to increase our safety and security,” Pedersen said, as she pointed to the PowerPoint slide that listed cameras, one-button lockdown, lockdown strobe light and securing the perimeter as part of the improvements. Another enhancement will be vape detectors in the restrooms. “We’re finding out that vaping is becoming a problem in high schools,” she said.

New career and technical programs, ensuring a 1 to 1 student ratio with Chromebooks in academic classes and transitioning to the federal government’s new Every Student Succeeds Act that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2015, are all part of the planned budget.

The bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the nation’s national education law, and a long-standing commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The district will also be using a grant from My Brother’s Keeper Mentoring for a program that seeks to help at-risk boys. The federal public-private partnership seeks to promote intervention by community leaders in the lives of young men of color.

Hallways in the high school will be renovated, including locker replacement and the Broadway Campus building that houses the middle school and elementary school will have its lobby and vestibule refurbished. New heating ventilation and air conditioning will be installed.

The high school is also the first school where the new security upgrades are being installed, including a mantrap between the first and second doors of the vestibule and the new sign-in procedure, where people must call in advance to enter the building. A mantrap is a small space with two sets of interlocking doors. The first set of doors must close before the second set opens. “We are looking to secure the perimeter and making sure that no one gets into the building,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jeremy Feder said.

A budget hearing will be held on May 1 in the middle school cafeteria at 8 p.m. It is at 195 Broadway, Lawrence. Voting on the budget take place on May 15 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the primary school, middle school, high school and Village Hall in Atlantic Beach.