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Boundary advisory committee recommends no boundary changes after enrollment review
Summary
A district committee reviewed enrollment projections, facility utilization and program access and recommended no boundary changes for 2025; administrators will study transfer policy and program access to address uneven enrollment and course availability.
The Boundary Advisory Committee for Lawrence USD 497 recommended the board make no boundary changes at the end of the 2024–25 school year after reviewing enrollment projections, utilization and program access.
The committee, which met six times this school year, presented data projecting a net districtwide enrollment decline of about 220 students by the 2029–30 school year and noted that high schools would experience the largest declines. Consultants projected Free State High School enrollment near 1,675 and Lawrence High School near 1,440 by 2029–30, a difference of about 235 students between the two high schools.
Committee members and district staff said the work did not include any study of school closures. Deputy Superintendent Larry Engelbrecht said the data and committee work were explicitly not intended to evaluate school closures and that the recommendation was limited to boundaries and continued study.
The analysis identified two elementary schools — Hillcrest and Schwagler — forecasted to exceed the district’s capacity thresholds at certain future points (overutilization), and three elementary schools — Deerfield, Prairie Park and Woodland — projected to be under 70% utilization. District staff said they will work to develop adjustments that minimize student disruption.
Rather than redraw attendance boundaries, the committee asked administration to pursue policy and program solutions to equalize access to academic offerings. Members and staff discussed exploring feeder concepts (ways to preserve peer groups across levels), improving access to specialized high school programs across campus lines, and reviewing the district’s transfer policy and how full-time-equivalent (FTE) funding follows students.
Board members on the committee and staff said they heard from community members who favored minimal disruption to students and valued maintaining program continuity. The board directed administration to evaluate transfer-policy changes and other options that could expand family choice without boundary changes.
The committee’s recommendation will return as an administrative report; the board did not vote on any boundary changes at the meeting.
The district said it will continue to study boundaries, enrollment trends and program alignment and report back with possible policy or operational steps to preserve program access while addressing shifting enrollment patterns.
