Response to Lakewood City Schools Prolonging Decision on School Closures

Today, Lakewood City Schools emailed out a statement from the Superintendent (included at the end of this post for reference) stating that they plan to further vaguely prolong their decision on whether or not to close and repurpose one or even two of our neighborhood elementary schools.  The email also states that Lakewood enrollment is declining, which is inaccurate according to the school district's own enrollment projections showing that enrollment has stabilized, and may even increase at the elementary level.  We addressed this in our recent article, “Lakewood’s elementary enrollment is stable: If you build and market schools, they will come.  If you close schools, they will leave.”

As Preserve Lakewood Schools, we are frustrated that our school district leadership is further prolonging this process without a clear plan of action or timeline in place.  Lakewood parents and community members deserve to know what the process and timeline for this decision will be.  We are also frustrated that there was no mention of taking community input into account in this decision.  Nor is there any stepping back to create an overarching strategic vision for the district, so that decisions are based on a strategy with buy-in from key stakeholders such as community members.

Additionally, we are concerned that this vague, undefined approach is further eroding trust in Lakewood City Schools' leadership less than 12 months before the school district plans to ask Lakewood voters to approve a (likely increased) new levy to support our public schools - which we will be strong proponents in supporting.

Closing just one of Lakewood's neighborhood elementary schools would have a profound negative impact on our community and our children's future, and Lakewood residents deserve to have a voice in this process.  Our community is dense, walkable, and does not offer bussing service to general education students, so proximity to schools is of utmost importance in educating our children.

As for the Superintendent’s sentiment of “change can be scary and hard for some folks to accept,” Preserve Lakewood Schools is not based on a general unfounded resistance to change. This is about transparency, fairness, and looking out for the future of Lakewood. If anything, change is needed in the district administration and our local school board, who are currently subjects of potential legal action against possible violations of Ohio Sunshine Laws pertaining to this process.

If drastic changes such as closing and repurposing a neighborhood school are necessary, Lakewood residents and students deserve for the decision to be based on meaningful community involvement in a transparent process, as well as decisions being made based on clear data.  This is not the case here. 

Please stay tuned to our group’s email list and social media postings for upcoming actions you can take - expect the next update from us tomorrow, August 6th. 

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Lakewood City Schools' message emailed on 8/5/2025:

The following is an important message from the Lakewood City Schools.

August 5, 2025

Dear Lakewood Families and Staff Members:

Last night at the Board of Education meeting,  Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki gave an update from the administration that we would like to share. 

Superintendent Niedzwiecki's Remarks:

Good evening, President Katzenberger, Vice President Shaughnessy, distinguished Board members and Mr. Zeman. 

I sincerely hope that the summer months have been relaxing, fun, and an opportunity for our entire school family to recharge and enjoy time with family, friends, and loved ones. 

As a reminder, school begins for the 2025-2026 school year on Thursday, August 21st for ninth grade and on Friday, August 22nd for the rest of the student body except for preschoolers and kindergarteners, who start on Monday, August 25th and Wednesday, August 27th, respectively. Until then, please continue enjoying the final few weeks of your summer.

I begin this report with an important update regarding my and my administrative leadership team's analysis of the most appropriate and positively impactful steps to be taken for our students and district, in light of the reality of a declining enrollment over the last decade or so. The community needs to know that my administrative leadership team and I recently looked at current student enrollment information, and we continue to look at the trend data of the past 10 years. 

Such a trend compels our immediate and continued attention and will have a significant impact on many varied considerations going forward, including facilities, personnel, scheduling, class sizes, and more. 

Please know that the best interests of our students will always be the primary factor driving my decision-making and recommendation to the Board, closely followed by my and my administrative leadership team's intention to affirm the community values, which I know our citizens in our neighborhoods intensely care about.

As many of you who closely follow our Board meetings know, a group of local citizens issued a demand letter earlier this summer regarding the work of the Enrollment Task Force and their findings and who convened over the last 12 months or so. While the Lakewood City Schools has every intention of upholding state statute and complying with Ohio Revised Code in light of this letter, the enrollment decline in the Lakewood City Schools has been an ongoing issue in this district and will continue to be going forward; one compelling our attention and requiring our action.  

While this letter has delayed us, I am pleased to report that we are pressing forward with our continued analysis of enrollment data and trends. After careful review and consideration of all necessary information by me and my administrative team, I as Superintendent will make a thoughtful recommendation to the Board of Education. The process we're taking going forward may look a little different, but the Lakewood City Schools will uphold its responsibility to make sensible suggestions to the Board that affirm students' best interests. 

While I understand that change can be scary and hard for some folks to accept, as Superintendent, I have little choice but to examine the enrollment decline trend and develop a path forward. That examination and that effort are underway by the administration. 

Ultimately, after a careful review of all considerations, by me and my administrative leadership team, I will make a recommendation to the Board of Education at some point throughout the year about what the District can and should do in order to address its enrollment decline.

Doing nothing relative to the matter may no longer be an option. As my administrative leadership team and I contemplate the enrollment challenges facing the District and what the right steps for the school community are to address those challenges, the community can expect transparency through regular updates from me through my Superintendent reports and various other communications channels. I and my administrative team must collectively arrive at a recommendation point, which will then inform my recommendation to the Board of Education.

Consequently, the community can expect that my administrative team and I will continue to analyze this important issue and I will prepare recommendations to make to the Board of Education aligned with the best interests of our students, our school community's values, and with the utmost fiscal and educational responsibility possible. You can expect more updates on this matter as we begin the 2025-2026 school year.