If You Think Our Superintendent is the Problem, Think Again
- Preserve Lakewood Schools
- Oct 3
- 4 min read
It’s easy to point fingers at Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki when we see our schools struggling with decisions, but here’s the truth: the Board of Education - five Lakewood residents elected by Lakewood voters - is the one responsible for hiring, managing, and evaluating her. The superintendent doesn’t answer to the public directly, she answers to the Board of Education (our elected leaders). And our current Board has failed to provide the leadership, accountability, and oversight that our community deserves.
Every year, the Board is required to conduct a formal evaluation of the superintendent. These evaluations should be the mechanism for honest feedback, constructive criticism, and clear expectations. Ideally, these evaluations would tie into the district’s overarching strategic plan so that every employee is working towards the same mission. Instead, there is NO STRATEGIC PLAN (IT EXPIRED THIS YEAR) AND NO GOALS established for the superintendent. There are annual performance reviews from the Board to the Superintendent, but the documents for those are glowing rubber stamps. Read for yourself below the latest performance review. Not one critical thought. Not one sign that they are pushing her to do better.
Download the full performance evaluation here:
(Note: this review is from 2023-2024 and was obtained through records requests. It is unclear whether the Board did one last year (end of 2024) and just neglected to send that or if they neglected to evaluate her.)
When a board refuses to evaluate a superintendent with a critical eye and adhere to their own policies, it is the students, families, and taxpayers who pay the price. Problems go unaddressed. Concerns from the community are ignored. Accountability vanishes.
Here’s the bottom line:
The superintendent doesn’t create her own job description. The Board does.
The superintendent doesn’t evaluate herself. The Board does.
The superintendent doesn’t decide whether she is meeting expectations. The Board does.
The current Board is only leaning into fluffed up praise, not steering a key figure as they are tasked to do.
If our schools are headed in the wrong direction, the buck stops with the Board of Education. Until we elect leaders willing to think critically, ask hard questions, and hold the superintendent accountable, we will keep seeing the same problems on repeat. Lakewood families deserve a Board of Education that does its job.
If you believe real change is overdue, if you believe our schools deserve leadership that asks hard questions, demands accountability, listens to the community, then don’t let this moment slip. The next step is ours, and it starts with electing the right people to fill the two seats up for election. That’s why today, we’re asking you to stand with Monica Bruaw and Katie Slife Rustad for our Board of Education.
Monica brings experience in educational planning, transparency, and community-driven decision making. Monica holds a B.S. in Management, majoring in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior, with a minor in Sociology. She also worked as an HR manager in retail for 3 years and 3 years in HR for a security guard firm before transitioning to educational planning for construction and consulting firms.
Katie brings a fresh, data-informed perspective, a track record of strategic leadership, and a commitment to preserve our neighborhood schools. Katie holds a B.S. from Ohio University and an MBA from Cleveland State. Currently serving as a Sales Director at American Greetings, Katie leads a team of twelve sales reps managing $60M in revenue. She is responsible for strategic planning, contract negotiations, relationship management, change management and business development.
Both of these candidates have experience managing people in professional settings. Their vision is built around restoring trust, insisting on real accountability, and putting Lakewood’s children and families first. We need them on the Board to replace two seats so that the superintendent answers to strategic oversight, not blind praise.
Between now and November 4, here’s how you can help make this change real:
1) Get a yard sign for Monica and Katie. Make their names visible across Lakewood.
2) Donate today to the Preserve Lakewood Schools PAC so we can reach more voters with events, flyers, and postcard mailings.
3) Talk to your neighbors about why this matters. Encourage them to vote.
4) Host a porch chat or backyard meet-up so these candidates and your community can meet face to face. You offer your house and social connections, we can help spread the word and provide the food and beverages. Email us to learn more: info@preservelakewoodschools.org.
