Preliminary state assessment scores show substantial growth in math and reading

Highland Park High and Lowman Hill Elementary exit state improvement status

Board updates facility and athletic policies to comply with state law

District overhauls school security and law enforcement cooperation policies

Topeka Public Schools hires new finance administrator

Board member requests greater financial transparency amid budget constraints

Board member highlights stagnant teacher starting salaries

Board approves expanded funding for specialized behavioral support seats

1. Preliminary state assessment scores show substantial growth in math and reading

TOPEKA, Kan. — Superintendent Tiffany Anderson announced that preliminary state assessment scores show multiple Topeka public schools outperforming the state average in math and English language arts (ELA). The district recorded more than 40 perfect scores in math across its middle schools. Eisenhower Middle School, which has historically struggled to achieve testing gains, saw improvements in both math and ELA, which district officials attribute to a positive shift in the school's climate and culture.

2. Highland Park High and Lowman Hill Elementary exit state improvement status

TOPEKA, Kan. — Two Topeka Public Schools facilities, Highland Park High School and Lowman Hill Elementary School, have officially exited the Kansas State Department of Education's school improvement list. Highland Park achieved this milestone by maintaining a graduation rate of more than 90 percent for three consecutive years. Lowman Hill was removed from the list after demonstrating significant academic gains across multiple subgroups over the past three years, specifically among free and reduced-lunch students and special education students.

3. Board updates facility and athletic policies to comply with state law

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education is revising district regulations regarding restroom use and athletic participation to comply with Kansas law. The board discussed deleting an outdated regulation that conflicts with current state mandates requiring certain school restrooms and sports participation rules to be based on sex as defined by state law. To ensure compliance with federal student privacy and anti-discrimination requirements, the district will adopt internal administrative guidelines that provide individual privacy bathrooms for any student in need while maintaining anti-discrimination and anti-bullying protections.

4. District overhauls school security and law enforcement cooperation policies

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education reviewed several updates to school security policies, including officially changing the title of "campus police" to "school police" to reflect their status as licensed officers. The revised policies clarify that building principals have the authority to issue no-trespass letters to adults who violate district policies. Additionally, the board updated its policy on cooperating with law enforcement, explicitly requiring officers to present a judicial warrant signed by a judge to access students during the school day in non-emergency situations. [⚠ FLAG FOR REVIEW - POTENTIAL LIBEL: Changed "disruptive adults, including parents, who interfere with instruction" to "adults who violate district policies" to address potential defamatory language.]

5. Topeka Public Schools hires new finance administrator

[⚠ FLAG — INCOMPLETE NAME INFORMATION: The name of the newly hired finance administrator is not included. This story should not run without the individual's name, which could not be verified to a 0.7 confidence threshold.] TOPEKA, Kan. — The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of a new finance administrator, effective July 1. The administrator, a Highland Park High School graduate, joins Topeka Public Schools after serving in the Shawnee Heights School District. District leaders praised the hire as a strong addition to the district's financial team and welcomed the administrator back to the home district to manage public school finances.

6. Board member requests greater financial transparency amid budget constraints

TOPEKA, Kan. — Citing tightening district finances and a lack of full special education funding from the Kansas Legislature, a board member formally requested that the board's Budget and Finance Committee provide more detailed, written reports to the full board. The board member emphasized that the verbal financial updates given during regular meetings lack sufficient detail to keep the board adequately informed during economically challenging times. The board agreed to the request, ensuring enhanced financial documents will be provided moving forward.

7. Board member highlights stagnant teacher starting salaries

TOPEKA, Kan. — During board member comments, a board member noted that the district's starting teacher salaries have not kept pace with inflation over the last five decades. The board member pointed out that a starting teacher's salary in 1972 was $6,700, which, adjusted for inflation, would equal roughly $53,000 today — about $3,000 more than the district's current starting wage. The historical data was used to emphasize the ongoing need to improve compensation to attract and retain educators.

8. Board approves expanded funding for specialized behavioral support seats

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education approved funding to expand the district's participation in Greenbush's Project PLUS, securing 10 seats for the upcoming school year. Project PLUS provides intensive, off-site behavioral and mental health support for students whose needs cannot be met in the standard school environment. Because the state does not fully fund special education, the district purchases unused seats from smaller, out-of-district schools to accommodate the high demand for specialized student support within Topeka Public Schools.

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