Douglas County commissioners to consider youth apprenticeship, truancy program

Douglas County commissioners will weigh two youth spending moves Wednesday evening that could shape both the county’s workforce pipeline and its court caseload: a Peaslee Tech apprenticeship grant and a new truancy intervention meant to keep K-8 students out of court.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27. The agenda allows public comment on each regular business item, and proclamations will come before the regular agenda. Residents can attend in person or join live through Zoom using the county website.

The apprenticeship item returns to a proposal commissioners first reviewed in November 2025. At that time, county staff described a one-time $62,500 matching grant tied to Peaslee Tech’s $10 million Peaslee Promise Campaign, a fundraising effort aimed at debt-free scholarships for juniors and seniors from partner high schools and qualifying low-income Douglas County residents. As of May 20, 2026, the campaign had raised $358,300.

For county leaders, the practical question is whether public dollars can help turn technical training into a stronger local hiring pipeline. Peaslee Tech has been positioned as part of that path, especially for students and adults who need credentials before they can move into stable work and stronger wages in Douglas County.

The second item, EveryDay Counts, is a truancy program that would run through Douglas County Criminal Justice Services’ Youth Services division and focus on K-8 students. County officials set aside $150,000 in the 2026 budget to explore alternatives to existing truancy services, and planning materials describe a three-tier model tied to Kansas’s 3-5-7 truancy threshold, meaning three consecutive unexcused days, five in a semester or seven in a school year.

Under that model, Tier 1 would address students at or above the threshold, Tier 2 would use a Neighborhood Truancy Board for higher-risk chronic absenteeism, and Tier 3 would move to formal court involvement. County staff said the new approach is meant to identify barriers such as transportation, housing stability and mental health needs, with possible home visits, school visits and emergency assistance for families.

Douglas County’s current truancy system works with SupportED Center for Supportive Communities for K-8 students and O’Connell Children’s Shelter for students in grades 9 through 12. Together, the two agenda items put a price tag on early intervention: whether the county wants to spend now on training and attendance support, or later on deeper system costs when students fall farther behind.