LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Since 2003, Lakewood schools have seen a decline in enrollment by 2,400 students, which led the district to reevaluate how it’s using its seven elementary schools.
We first told you about the 50-member task force late last year, when they presented seven different scenarios to the community, some of which included closing up to three schools.
REATED: Low enrollment could lead to fewer elementary schools in Lakewood
But now, just two weeks away from the task force presenting its report to the superintendent, the mayor has weighed in — and it’s getting mixed reactions.
For months, Nicky Wills has been part of the Elementary Planning Facility Task Force, working to find solutions for Lakewood’s declining enrollment.
“We looked at different scenarios, walkability, teacher movement, class sizes, all of those things, and looked at how these different scenarios might affect that,” said Wills.
One key question being considered: Should Lakewood close any of its seven elementary schools?
“It's always hard to talk about closing schools. It's not anything anybody wants in a district, especially like ours,” said Wills.
But what frustrates her is a two-page letter Mayor Meghan George wrote, urging the district to find another way. She wrote:
"Closing neighborhood schools should be taken off the table unless and until there are no other options,” The letter read.
“I was mad, but disappointed. I felt that it was done in a way that pits the district against the city,” said Wills.
While the mayor has no official say in the district’s decision, Wills believes the statement could influence public perception.
“I don't believe that she is impacting what the school board will decide. I think they will make their best decision with the information that they have. I do think she's affecting the community's response to the decision,” said Wills.
Council member at large Tom Bullock agrees.
“The mayor was wrong to take the approach that she did,” said Bullock.
As a parent himself, he believes that in some cases, city officials should refrain from publicly sharing personal views.
“I have strong opinions, and I’ve shared them privately with a school board member colleague. But I’m not putting on my 10 stars as a city council official and trying to use the role of city to tell the school board what decision to make,” said Bullock.
But not everyone opposes the mayor’s letter.
“The mayor is the leader of our community and our city, and I’m proud that she has taken a leadership role in this,” Jennifer Schlosser, with Preserve Lakewood Schools.
Schlosser, a mother of two in the district, supports the letter and also wants to see the schools remain open.
“Obviously, she recognizes that if even just one neighborhood school closes, it'll have a huge impact, not only on the neighborhood surrounding and the hundreds of families that will be sent to different schools and starting over at a new school, but also to the neighborhoods and the city as a whole,” said Jennifer.
In a statement, Lakewood Superintendent Margaret Niedzwiecki said the mayor is entitled to her opinion but expressed concern about the timing. She wrote:
“I believe the mayor is entitled to her opinion on any matter in the community. However, it's regrettable that a public statement was made before the task force had the opportunity to present its recommendation. This group of dedicated Lakewood residents have put hours of thoughtful time into their work and care deeply about their neighborhood schools. Over the past year, they have invested significant time and effort into thoroughly researching and analyzing a wide range of data to determine what is best for all students and families across the district,” the statement read.
Wills also reminds the public that no decision has been made yet.
“I think that's been a common misconception since the beginning, that a decision has been made. We're just going through the process... for show,” Wills continued, “Everybody cares deeply and wants to do the best for the district.”
News 5 reached out to Mayor George about the mixed reactions. In a statement, she stood by her letter, writing:
“I want to thank the members of the task force for their commitment and hours of work for the Lakewood community, our schools, and our families and students. The possibility of closing one or more schools is a scenario that would affect the entire City and all its residents for many years, and that is why I felt the need to share my views as the Mayor of Lakewood," the statement read. "I have received feedback in response to the statement from parents of students, teachers, administrators, and task force members, and most of them have been supportive of my stance."
The task force has one more meeting before presenting its final report to the superintendent. The superintendent will then make a recommendation to the school board, which will have the final say. The timeline for that decision remains unclear.
You can find the mayor's full letter below:
Letter To The Community Regarding The Future Of Lakewood City Schools
Meghan George
Lakewood is a city with a high quality of life, positive momentum, and a history of providing its residents with the best in public assets and services. A bedrock of this value proposition has always been our Lakewood City Schools and their neighborhood-based model of education. In practice, that has always meant an excellent standard of learning set within walkable schools. This approach to education was the product of a long-term vision that has served our community extremely well for over a century. It is one of the primary reasons people choose Lakewood as their home.
Last year, the Lakewood Board of Education established an Elementary Planning Task Force to “explore the optimal use and maintenance of District facilities.” This task force has been provided seven scenarios for the future of Lakewood’s elementary schools; however, only one of those scenarios involves maintaining our tradition and core value of walkable, neighborhood-based education. The other six all suggest closing at least one and possibly even two of our neighborhood schools. For many reasons, I believe that this task force process is overly focused on shedding facilities and should instead be refocused on how to maintain our traditional approach to education in Lakewood.
For those who may not have a full history, in the early 2000s Lakewood City Schools undertook the creation of its 50 Year Committee. This plan was based in part on the assumption of a decrease in enrollment (which has come to fruition). The 50 Year Committee examined all factors and recommended an expansive overhaul of our school facilities. It called for “decommissioning” – closure in lay terms – of three elementary schools as a result: Madison, McKinley, and Taft. Other shifts in location and capacity were also undertaken. What that plan made clear was that enrollment would dip significantly in the future, and closure of these three schools was necessary to address the coming enrollment decline. As the name of the plan suggests, this plan was based on forecasting the next 50 years of our public school needs.
That planning process also coincided with Lakewood City Schools asking for and receiving an immense commitment and investment by our residents and taxpayers – the capital project that accompanied the 50 Year Committee included the complete rebuilding of half a dozen schools and vast renovations of the others.
While parents and the community were not enthusiastic about losing schools nearly 20 years ago, our Lakewood community answered the call and stood up for our children at that time. They put their dollars forward in a major way to pay for the capital plan. In doing so, the understanding was that this reduction in buildings would be a long-term solution for future enrollment decline, one that would lead us forward for decades. It was also understood that it would protect our walkable neighborhood model while also improving the quality of our facilities to enhance learning.
Now, not even ten years after the completion of the capital plan, Lakewood City Schools is advancing multiple options to close schools that were just built. All of the previous planning and investment by this community seems to be ignored if we decide to shut down newly built schools and abandon our neighborhood model.
I have spoken to many community members over the past few months – both parents of current school children and many others who do not directly use our schools – and the consensus is clear, that Lakewood City Schools should not consider closing schools. People logically believe that this would spell the death knell for our long-held model of neighborhood education in Lakewood and they also believe that any further closures should be the path of absolute last resort. I agree.
I also have spoken to the leadership of Lakewood City Schools and listened to their views. I want to stress that current leadership at Lakewood City Schools should be commended for maintaining a high-quality classroom education for our Lakewood’s children and for continuing to navigate a challenging state and federal education environment. But at this point, they have failed to put forward a convincing rationale for the current heavy focus on closing schools.
School officials have stated to me that financial factors are not the driving force behind the current effort to evaluate school buildings. Rather, they talk about things like logistics in moving teachers year-to-year and the variety in class sizes within grade levels. These are normal challenges in any school district. They do not call for closing schools. If schools are closed, redistricting will be required regardless; therefore, the scenario that would employ redistricting to realign students should be the sole and primary focus at this point, not closing buildings. There is nothing lost through the redistricting process, but we all know that once schools are closed, they do not come back.
We are all aware of the current chaos facing education at both the federal and state levels. This should not be a reason to throw away our long-cherished values here in Lakewood – instead, we should fight even harder to preserve them. I believe this is a time for Lakewood to keep a steady hand and not let the current winds blow us off our strongly held beliefs on education. We do not know where enrollment will be in the future – especially as Lakewood expects to add a minimum of 400 to 600 housing units in the next two to three years, and possibly many more beyond that. What we do know is that this community values our model of high quality, walkable neighborhood schools.
Lakewood City Schools must take the long view in this process. Closing neighborhood schools should be taken off the table unless and until there are no other options. We owe it to the children of Lakewood to do the right thing and keep our walkable, neighborhood school model intact and thriving.
Meghan George is an LHS graduate, former Lakewood City Academy school board member, mom to a Lincoln elementary preschooler, and current Mayor and Safety Director of Lakewood.
