State Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said on Tuesday that he hopes having Lawrence’s state legislative delegation recommend new leadership in Lawrence Public Schools could be the “the final step” in the district returning to local control after more than a decade under state receivership.
There have been many pleas from families and advocates in the last several years asking for the district to return to local control. Last month, Riley announced that he would allow members of the legislative delegation to recommend four of the seven Lawrence Alliance for Education board member seats to him “as a further step toward local control.” The alliance serves as the state-appointed board that oversees the district.
“Right now we’re stepping down and allowing for more local control with the delegation that’s been able to recommend new positions to me,” Riley said on Tuesday. “But obviously we have to see how this works out.”
