• History

    Leonard Lawrence was a businessman who was actively involved in civic and education affairs. He served on many city and county boards and commissions.

    Leonard Lawrence served on the Bellevue Board of Education from 1966 until 1980, including terms as both vice president and president. While on the Board, he became active in the Nebraska Association of School Boards and was the first and only Bellevue Board member to be elected president of that statewide organization.

    Two months after Lawrence's death on April 8, 1980, the Bellevue Board of Education passed a resolution stating that the next school to be built in Bellevue would be named after him. No new school plans existed in 1980, but by 1984, Bellevue was growing rapidly to the southwest where farmland was being developed into new city subdivisions.

    A new school for the Leawood Oaks development was planned and constructed. It opened in January, 1984. At the dedication, it was officially named Leonard Lawrence Elementary School.