LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Last year, the city of Lakewood formed a community task force to develop a plan to address declining enrollment in the Lakewood City School District's seven elementary schools.
In May, News 5 sat down with members of the task force and Lakewood City Schools Superintendent, Maggie Niedzwieck, following their final meeting, just before the group was set to present its findings.
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However, a demand letter sent by members of the community abruptly halted the task force’s progress. Now, the superintendent is required to make a recommendation to the school board without the task force’s findings.
The timeline for that decision remains unclear, leaving many parents wondering what the future holds for their children’s schools. After months of discussions about the future of Lakewood’s seven elementary schools, parents say they’re tired of the wait.
“The school district hasn't announced whether or not they're considering closing one or two schools,” said Jennifer Schlosser, a parent and member of Preserve Lakewood Schools.
The most recent communication from the district was an email from the superintendent, stating that she and her administration would make a recommendation to the school board sometime this year.
“Should PTA be raising money for this school if we're not going to be here? And so there are families that are choosing not to come to Grant because they don't believe the school is going to continue to be open,” said Danielle Locke, a parent and member of Preserve Lakewood Schools.
Niedzwiecki told News 5 that, after months of working with the community task force, a demand letter from a group of concerned residents—known as Friends of Lakewood Schools—forced the district to halt the process and shift its approach.
“I think it's really important for me to continue to gather information through myself and my administrative team and to ensure we have the data points in place in order for me to recommend something to the board at this point in time,” said Niedzwiecki.
Some aspects of the plan remain unchanged since News 5 last spoke with the superintendent. Instead of two schools being affected, only one elementary school is currently under consideration.
“That is still the case, in my mind and then so there were still two things on the table, and that was redistricting or repurposing,” said Superintendent Niedzwiecki.
The superintendent and her team also emphasize that low enrollment—not budgets—remains the driving force behind these discussions, even if enrollment has remained consistent in recent years.
“While it's leveled off, it's still significantly lower than it had been prior,” Kent Zeman, Lakewood City Schools, continued, “So, ultimately, the decision is multi-factored, right? It is the experience of the student, it is the classroom size, it is the equity that we have amongst our building. Finances will always play a part of it.”
Parents, meanwhile, say they want more transparency, while the superintendent believes she’s already providing it.
“I would say, we would like an update on the timeline for your next decision and how you will arrive at your decision, and also what data you plan to gather to inform your decision,” said Schlosser.
“If you were to pull up the Lakewood City Schools website, you would see every document, and recaps from meetings, timelines of when things would occur,” said Niedzwiecki.
The superintendent says she should have a recommendation ready before the start of the next school year. Once that recommendation is made, the school board will vote on the final decision.
News 5 reached out to Friends of Lakewood Schools, who provided the following statement:
“If the Lakewood Board of Education did not violate the law in how it handled this process, the ETF process would have resulted in a report and a recommendation by now. For the school board to ask Superintendent Niedzwiecki to plow ahead with her own school closure recommendation – setting aside the entirety of the ETF process with the explicit intent to ignore community input this time, all without any strategic plan in place – just serves to perpetuate the charade that the Lakewood Board of Education has orchestrated for the past several years.
We are immensely disappointed with both the Lakewood Board of Education and Superintendent Niedzwiecki in their handling of this entire process. Rather than listening to community feedback, every step has been a doubling down by the school board and administration, determined to plow forward with a decision that appears to have been made long before the ETF process started. The decision to adhere to Ohio law and avoid needless litigation is squarely within the fiduciary obligations of the Lakewood Board of Education. As is the obligation to engage in strategic planning.
Lakewood residents and taxpayers deserve better. When our leaders and institutions fail us, it is upon us to demand accountability and change. Consistent with its mission, Friends of Lakewood Schools intends to seek accountability and change to ensure a bright future for Lakewood and its children.”
You can read the full statement below:
