Lakewood Observer: "To The Lakewood City School District: What Is Our Long Range Plan?"

by Alaina McCourt

Historically, Lakewood City Schools has prioritized students, teachers, and families. In fact, the district spent $100 million dollars to rebuild three elementary schools just 12 years ago. As is true for many Lakewood families, the primary deciding factor for us when we decided to purchase a home in Lakewood was the walkable, new elementary schools. We live within walking distance to Lincoln Elementary School, which opened only 9 years ago in 2016. Now, only a few years after purchasing our home, we are being told that this brand new beautiful school building which is supposed to last another 40 years may be closed or repurposed next year. My family has been to the meetings, watched the presentations, and we are still left with a lack of understanding as to what the true direction of the Lakewood Public School System is.

We’ve read the most recent strategic plan as of 2022, and closing and repurposing school buildings is not mentioned anywhere. In fact, closing or repurposing schools seems to be entirely counter to many of the objectives stated in the strategic plan. So I ask you, Lakewood City School District and community members, are we truly striving to be a great school district? Do we want the very best educational outcomes for our students above all else? Do we want to improve teacher morale in order to retain the most highly qualified and effective teachers? Do we want to continue growing our student population and attracting families to join our school district to increase enrollment? Because the short-sighted actions being proposed by the district administration will have direct and serious consequences on those goals and will do irreparable harm to our school district.

Closing or repurposing school buildings is a short term solution that doesn’t come close to covering the financial deficit we find ourselves in. The projected savings stated by the Superintendent and Treasurer is approximately $500,000 per year. However, the Treasurer’s own presentation indicates a projected net loss of $6 million for 2026 and $13 million for 2028. Per the treasurer, even if we close or repurpose one or two schools, we will absolutely still require a substantial levy in 2026 to balance the budget. And closing or repurposing schools will have additional serious consequences including...

• An annihilation of trust between community members and the district, which sought voter support for a $50 million bond just 12 years ago to rebuild the very elementary buildings now being considered for closure.

• The complete destruction of our school district’s walkability, a trait that is one of our greatest strengths and one that attracts new families and boosts enrollment.

• The loss of additional students who will choose to take vouchers and enroll in private schools.

• Increased absenteeism among our most at-risk students, who lack access to a family-owned vehicle or other transportation.

• Negative financial impact on community members as property values decline with the loss of walkable school buildings.

• And perhaps, most importantly, the social-emotional harm that will be inflicted on hundreds of children who will lose their elementary schools and the connections they have established with their school, teachers, and peers.

The sentiment shared by myself and thousands of other Lakewood residents who have signed the petition on Change.org is that these costs to the overall quality of our school district are not worth the savings presented. The decision to close or repurpose new schools that the district invested $100 million in constructing merely 9 years ago will completely erode trust and support with the very community members needed to pass the new levy in 2026. And this decision is being proposed at a moment when the enrollment in the elementary schools has increased 3% over the last few years, which we would expect to continue over the next several years eventually leading to increased enrollment in our middle schools and high school. Choosing to close or repurpose elementary buildings now will inflict irreparable damage to our school district’s reputation, discouraging new families from continuing to move to Lakewood to attend our schools.

If we truly want the Lakewood City School District to be a great school district for many years to come, we need to invest in our elementary program to encourage continued growth that will, over time, make its way to our middle and high schools. We need to maintain our walkability to attract new families to invest in Lakewood. We need to retain our teachers, students, and families by showing our consistent, unwavering support for their best interests. We, the families of Lakewood City School District, will do everything in our power to support that vision. Redistricting to balance class sizes and move students to underutilized buildings and scrutinizing our current spending and any proposed costly upcoming renovation projects may be strategies that make sense. Forming an alliance with the thousands who have signed the Change.org petition and recruiting us to help pass the substantial 2026 levy, a levy that would cover the full deficit amount, is a strategy that makes sense. Dismantling our neighborhood schools model, eliminating walkability, destroying trust with families, and causing unnecessary harm to our children do not make sense. Lakewood City School District with its walkable, neighborhood elementary schools model is a beacon of light in what can be a dark public school universe, especially right now. Let's work together to make the future of Lakewood City School District as bright as it can be.

Alaina McCourt is a Lakewood resident, dedicated elementary school teacher, and mother of two Lakewood Elementary School students.

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