Lawrence Journal-World 04-06-13

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L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ÂŽ

75 CENTS

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Breezy

High: 74

Low: 47

Today’s forecast, page 10B

INSIDE

RETHINKING the BOULEVARD

THIS PHOTO from KU’s archives shows how the elm canopy over Jayhawk Boulevard looked in the 1950s. By the mid-1970s, Dutch elm disease had killed most of the trees.

Lawmakers save funding review for wrap-up session

What did the KU baseball team do right in its 7-5 win Friday over Oklahoma State? Just about everything, according to coach Rich Price. “That may have been our best all-around performance of the year,� Price said of the game, which featured 12 hits and a stellar performance from starting pitcher Thomas Taylor. Page 1B

By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

SCHOOLS

LHS names new A.D., asst. principal

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QUOTABLE

It might sound funny, but animal lawnmowers are ecological as no gasoline is required, and cost half the price of a machine. And they’re so cute.� — Marcel Collet, Paris farm director, on the use of sheep to help maintain green spaces in the French capital city. Page 8A

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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Society Sports Television Vol.155/No.96

Higher ed bill left on table ——

Jayhawks do little wrong in victory

Bill DeWitt, who is currently principal at Thomas More PrepMarion in Hays, has been named as Lawrence High School’s new assistant principal and athletics director. Page 3A

LJWorld.com

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

A GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS CROSS Jayhawk Boulevard while touring the Kansas University campus Friday during Junior Days. This view of Jayhawk Boulevard looks east from the Chi Omega Fountain toward Fraser Hall in the distance. This summer, KU will begin a four-year, $11 million construction project on the boulevard that will include repaving sidewalks and streets and possibly the creation of a bike lane down the middle of the road and the re-creation of a tree canopy.

4-year project could add bike lane, tree canopy to KU’s main road By Matt Erickson merickson@ljworld.com

It’s going to take awhile, but Kansas University’s signature campus street is about to undergo a facelift the likes of which haven’t been seen in decades. Over the next four summers, KU will be reconstructing Jayhawk Boulevard piece by piece. The end result could include not only new smooth pavement and sidewalks but also restoration of a historic tree canopy mostly absent for the last 40 years and a bicycle lane down the center of the road. And that’s not to mention the work that will

THIS RENDERING from the planning firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas and Co. shows how KU’s Jayhawk Boulevard could look after a reconstruction project scheduled for the next four summers. This eastward view from in front of Strong Hall shows a possible bike lane through the center of the road, as well as a re-created canopy of trees planted between the curb and sidewalk on each side. Such a canopy of elm trees was once present in the middle of the 20th century, before disease largely Please see JAYHAWK, page 2A wiped it out.

2A 1C-5C 10A 2A 2B, 10B 5C 4A 9A 5C By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com 8A 1B-8B The rising cost of 2B, 10B, 5C health insurance and new 26 pages methods for conducting teacher evaluations will be among the top issues being negotiated this year for teachers in the Lawrence school district. And while school board

TOPEKA — House Republican budget leaders on Friday backed off a major portion of proposed cuts to higher education. For weeks, they had pushed for an across-the-board cut of 4 percent, or $30 million, to post-secondary institutions, while the Senate had recommended a 2 percent cut. The 4 percent cut would have reduced funding by nearly $30 Masterson million. On Friday, the House side withdrew from the 4 percent cut by taking dollars from the state highway program. Shortly afterward, state Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover and chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, agreed to the proposal, saying he wanted “to get the elephants off the table.� But Masterson later pulled back, saying he wanted to study the effects of transferring $30 million from the highway fund to higher education. “We really hadn’t had a lot of time to evaluate that. The good news is it looks like (House lawmakers) are willing to give up those cuts, and I’m not opposed to that,� he said. The sides appear to be moving closer to Gov. Sam Brownback’s position, which is to keep higher education at current levels. Both sides ended negotiations as legislators started a monthlong break; they will reconvene May 8 for the wrap-up session. While the House’s budget position removes across-theboard cuts, it still includes a salary cap that officials say would cost Kansas University Medical Center $5.3 million and the KU Lawrence campus $1.3 million.

More legislative news

on pages 2A, 7A.

Insurance, evaluations key in teacher contract talks members say they Masten, who is part would like to ofof the district’s nefer a general pay gotiating commitraise for teachers tee this year. “Are next year, they say they going to mainthat all depends on tain funding? Are the Kansas Legisla- SCHOOLS they going to conture and how much tinue to decrease money it puts into the funding? That’s our bigstate’s education budget. gest worry.� “That is huge,� said Negotiators from the board member Randy district and the Lawrence

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Education Association will meet face-to-face next week to talk about those issues and others as the two sides try to hammer out an agreement on teacher contracts for the upcoming school year. LEA is the local union that represents teachers in the Lawrence district. Gov. Sam Brownback’s

budget proposal this year recommended no change in base state aid to local schools, which is currently $3,838 per pupil. But that amount still represents a substantial cut from the pre-recession peak of $4,400 per pupil in fiscal year 2009. Please see CONTRACT, page 2A

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