Equity Means Access To Our Neighborhood Schools

The conversation about potentially closing one or even two of Lakewood’s neighborhood elementary schools has gone on so long that many in the community are understandably weary. Still, it’s important to recognize that this division didn’t arise on its own. It reflects years of missteps by the Board of Education managing properties and budgets, and a superintendent - hired by the Board - whose distance from Lakewood has too often translated into a lack of accountability, leadership, and alignment with our community’s values.

Here’s the truth: Lakewood residents, our leadership and administration may change, but we are in this together as neighbors. And there are clear, achievable solutions.

The district points to three main reasons for closures. Each has a better alternative:

• Class sizes: If numbers are uneven, redraw boundaries and place incoming kindergarteners accordingly so that existing peer communities aren’t torn apart. We don’t need to close buildings to balance enrollment.

  
  

• Pre-K expansion: Demand isn’t proven. District Pre-K wasn’t even full at the start of this school year. Let’s expand what we already have in our neighborhood schools instead of centralizing programs in a district without bus service. We are one of the only west side suburbs that can offer a continuous educational experience from Pre-K through 5th grade in one building in a child’s neighborhood - why give that up?

  
  

• Teacher movement: The Superintendent cited in a July 25, 2024 Board meeting that teacher movements have stabilized. This is well within the superintendent’s capabilities to manage without needing extensive Board of Education involvement or community Task Force input, not to mention considering closing buildings because of it. It has since become a major focus of the Elementary Planning Task Force work that kicked off shortly after the Superintendent’s claims and a point cited by board members several times publicly as a key rationale for repurposing. There’s no evidence this affects teacher retention or student performance. No drastic remedy is needed.

At its core, this isn’t about class size or Pre-K. It’s about equity, transparency, trust, and defining what our community values for the long term. And in the quest to balance class sizes, a large part of the definition of “equity” has been missing from this conversation: the equity of access to school.

Equity of access means kids being able to walk safely to school, families not paying hundreds for aftercare because their local school closed, teachers not losing jobs from unnecessary consolidation, high-performing elementary schools staying open, and avoiding increasing dangerous traffic at the schools which receive the overflow of students. It means honoring the overwhelming community vote to rebuild (and still pay for) these very schools just over a decade ago. Equity of access means if we make it harder for kids to physically get to our public school buildings, we can’t protect, feed, service, or teach them. In these tumultuous times, we need to keep our neighborhood elementaries so that all students can access these fundamental rights.

Lakewood’s identity is built on walkable neighborhoods, strong community ties, and high-quality schools embedded in every quadrant of our city. Closing schools weakens that fabric and we aren’t willing to gamble one of our buildings in hopes that a centralized pre-k fills up. Once gone, we don’t get it back; just look at the empty hospital site as a painful reminder.

This issue itself nor the race for two seats on the Board of Education on November 4 is not partisan. It’s bigger than that. It’s about Lakewood’s future and how we unite to face the  real challenges ahead. We can either accept the status quo of decision-making that too often skirts the spirit of Sunshine Laws and sidelines community voices, or we can demand fresh leadership with skin in the game: parents, neighbors, and problem-solvers willing to face tough conversations openly and strategically.

As we face uncertainties ahead, now is the time to restore trust in our Board of Education. To protect our neighborhood schools. To invest in our strengths instead of dismantling for consolidation because it’s “what everyone else is doing.” To choose leaders who will unite us for the challenges ahead and authentically welcome all voices into the conversation.

On November 4th, we are calling for sweeping change on the Board of Education. Lakewood deserves open doors, open meetings, and a clear vision - one child, one school, one neighborhood at a time. This is how we meet the moment and face what is to come, together.

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