Preserve Lakewood Schools
About Us
Who we are: Preserve Lakewood Schools is a non-partisan coalition of parents, residents, and leaders in Lakewood, Ohio, committed to preventing the closure/repurposing of elementary schools by Lakewood City Schools, and supporting the long-term vitality of Lakewood's public schools. We educate residents, provide resources for taking action, and advocate to our leaders. Join us to protect the future of our neighborhood schools - one of our community’s greatest assets.
Our vision: We envision a thriving, united Lakewood community where every child has access to a high-quality, safely walkable, neighborhood-based public education.
Our mission: Our mission is to preserve and strengthen our neighborhood public schools as vital centers of learning, family engagement, extracurricular opportunities (clubs/aftercare/music/sports), equity, and community connection. We work toward building transparent, inclusive communication and connection between the school board and the community, to restore trust and support the long-term vitality of our public schools. Our grassroots organization has evolved into a Political Action Committee (PAC). We advocate for strong public investment in Lakewood City Schools, including supporting levies, as a foundation for equity, opportunity, and the stability of our community. We support local candidates that align with the mission of preserving and marketing our neighborhood school model.
Leadership Team
Dan has dedicated the past 15 years to strengthening fundraising initiatives for higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations. He lives in Lakewood with his wife and their daughter, who looks forward to walking to school with her dad and biking with her mom this fall in America’s most walkable school district.​
Jennifer is a marketing and communications consultant for nonprofit and mission-driven organizations. She lives in Lakewood with her husband and two children who attend Lakewood City Schools.
Caity (LHS ’05) holds a degree in architecture and has 13+ years experience in launching and managing small businesses. A 4th-generation Lakewood resident, she lives with her husband and three elementary-age children who attend Lakewood City Schools. Caity is passionate about preserving Lakewood’s walkable history, ensuring neighborhood schools remain intact, and prioritizing walking and biking safety.
Bill has been a proud resident of Lakewood for the past 10 years. He has an MBA, with career experience in manufacturing and corporate finance. As an engaged and dedicated member of the community, he is deeply involved with Grant Elementary where his son is entering 4th grade.
David holds a degree in Economics and resides in Lakewood with his wife and their two children, who attend Lakewood City Schools. He brings a strong analytical background and a thoughtful, principled approach to his professional endeavors.
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Supported by many other fellow volunteer members.
This is truly a community effort, and we couldn't do this without you!
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The Name and Logo
Our name "Preserve Lakewood. Save Our Neighborhood Schools" was a result of then-strangers convening in an office room on a snowy night in January 2025. We all shared the same concerns about the importance of protecting and leveraging our neighborhood school model.
The name has since been shortened to "Preserve Lakewood Schools" because it was a mouthful! And sometimes you will hear us referred to as "PLS."
The graphic was created by our team, showing seven hands coming together. That represents all seven elementary schools in Lakewood. We stand united in bringing equitable access to all of Lakewood's students.
Our Stance
Lakewood City School District (LCSD) has proposed closing and repurposing one or even two neighborhood elementary schools due to reasons that have shifted over the course of discussions. This will impact everyone in Lakewood, from increased traffic, to property values, to loss of Lakewood's walkable charm. Here is some background info:
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"Low enrollment" as the originally stated district reason has been disproved with their own updated data showing that enrollment is stabilizing in the post-COVID years. The district now projects that Lakewood will only lose 66 K-5 students over the next 10 years - that’s only 9 fewer students per elementary school. Check out our latest article on this issue, "Lakewood's Elementary Enrollment is Stable." Working together, we can course-correct with marketing efforts.
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In a March 11, 2025 letter to the House Finance Committee regarding House Bill 96, LCSD CFO Kent Zeman wrote, “Lakewood CSD is a guarantee district with stable enrollment. Our enrollment over the last four years has remained constant at 4,200 students.”
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LCSD's own community survey shows that Lakewoodites' collective top priorities are:
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Minimize walking time to schools
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Creating equitable class sizes*
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Avoiding students crossing through major thoroughfares.
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*Equitable class sizes can be achieved through simply redrawing boundary lines, without closing entire buildings.
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Closing and repurposing one school will save only $500,000/annually per LCSD presentations at Community Conversations. This is roughly 0.6% of the annual operating budget. Regardless of whether the school board votes to close and repurpose schools, they still plan to ask Lakewood voters to approve a new levy in 2026. For the value of our walkable neighborhood schools to current families and in attracting more to Lakewood, we believe that this cost savings is not worth the sacrifice.
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Longer walking distances, especially for disadvantaged families, is likely to exacerbate absenteeism and does not support LCSD's "Stay in the Game" attendance initiative. LCSD has no plans to add bus service for general education students.