001[Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Thank you. [Music] Happy [Music] Thank you. [Music] Thank you. [Music] Thank you. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] You are free. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Good evening. Tonight is Tuesday, September 2nd, and welcome to the regular Lakewood Board of Education meeting. The board previously met uh in recess for executive session um for consideration of the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of an employee or official um or the investigation of charges or complaints against an employee, official, lency, or student unless the employee, official, lency, or student requests a public hearing and for conference with the board's attorney to discuss matters that are subject of pending or imminent court action. It's very loud. Um, we have now returned to public session and I ask you to join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I
002pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Um, now we move on to the adoption of the agenda. Do I have a motion to adopt? >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded. Mr. Zean, can you call the role? >> Miss Catsburgger. >> I. >> Miss Shaughnessy. >> Hi. >> Miss Clark Sutton. >> Hi. >> Mr. Calhan. >> Hi. >> Miss Do. >> Hi. >> Thank you. And now we'll have the superintendent's report. Superintendent. Good evening again, President Katsburgger, Vice President Shaughnessy, distinguished board members, Treasurer Zean. As I shared at the last board meeting, I would provide the board of education with a timeline of when my recommendation
003to the board would occur. And so I will share that information now. Um, on September 15th, I'll identify information at the board meeting and I will share what data and information we will be that I will be using in order to make my recommendation. Along with that, I'll share expectations and design of the community tabletop discussion. September 29th, we will hold a tabletop community conversation. That information will be forthcoming. October 6 at the board meeting, I myself will present along with some of my administrative team the recommendations of a first reading to the board of education. And then on October 20th, the board at a board meeting, the board will engage in discussion and vote on a recommendation. Any thoughts to those updates? Thank you. Any discussion of the timeline? >> No, I'm glad there's
004a timeline and everyone I know people are concerned on both sides of the issue. >> Oh, on both sides of the issue. So, I'm glad we have the timeline. >> Absolutely. Are um are any of the locations going to change if we are expecting a bigger crowd? Have we thought about that? >> So, I think you know what I'll take note of that. Do you mean for the se October 6th and October 20th meeting >> even September 15th? >> We could. So, um I will take that into consideration and that could potentially be we still hold um the building reports that we've already scheduled out for the year. It's hard to get everybody in and there there are special announcements so we can definitely look at that. >> The 29th though would be in a
005our a larger venue. >> It would. >> Okay. >> That would that would be a special meeting, right? or community might be a community meeting. Okay. >> Correct. >> Not an official board meeting. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> And then in addition to that, there was just I'm sorry. Was there some anything else that wasn't? >> Mhm. >> Okay. In addition to that, there was um going to need to be a change to our November meeting. November 10th uh or I'm sorry the second meeting of November 17th is the week of OSBA conference. It they changed for the first time in I don't know how many years but they have changed their date to the um third beginning of the week of November month. And so with that being said we need to decide
006on changing that date to either November 10th or November 23rd. Would you like me to send those dates out via a doodle poll or >> Yeah, I think that's probably the best way to do it. >> Okay. >> And then we can report back in our next board meeting what the changes. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Can we just talk a little bit about it now? >> You can do that, too. >> Absolutely. >> I mean, people would have to grab their calendars or whatever. >> Yeah. Like I don't know. November 10th is gives us one week and November 23rd is the week of Thanksgiving. I guess that's probably the >> those are the challenges, right? So >> I'm going to say it's the 24th is the absolutely right. That's the week of Thanksgiving. >>
007Yeah. >> Okay. >> So is the 10th. >> So I'm good with either one. >> Yeah. Um, >> they said, "Do you have any preferences?" You look like you have a preference. >> The week of Thanksgiving. >> What? >> Me coming home from soccer. >> So, you're saying the 23rd? >> Whatever that Monday is. The week of the 24th. >> Listen. Listen. >> I can make it all work. >> What do you think, Mike? >> I'm good on either. I was just noting that the 10th would be the eve of Veterans Day, which isn't observed by the district, but >> Oh, that's true. >> Happens to be by some other public employees in their fulltime, but either way, I I don't I don't >> I don't think it >> Okay, >> I'm good either way.
008>> Whichever day. >> Yeah. >> The 24th. >> 24th. >> Okay. Can >> we just do that and people look at you moving moving the ball? >> Just have a conversation. Our meetings in November are November 2nd and November 24th. >> Third and I think >> third and third and the 24th. >> Third and >> so we will post those dates correctly. >> Thank you. And that concludes the superintendent's report. >> Okay. >> Thank you. We will now move on to the discussion of agenda items and the first up is the finance report with Miss Clark Sutton. Hello. The good news is we still have money and I will always be very happy to start my reports with that um for as long as possible. Um so and I read all this and people are
009like why? And it's to read it into the official record that these are the math. This is the math that we've done and letting people know what our balances are and what's happening with our money. So, um, so investments purchased and matured for July 2025. Um, the investment earnings for regular board funds for the month of July total 222,861. Financial information for July. The month of July 2025, general fund receipts totaled 7 million 565,75 and general expenditures totaled $7,231 I'm sorry, $7,231,21. So still positive balance. The initial five-year forecast for 2026 reflects various changes from uh the fiscal year 25. So I'm just going to give you a couple of those. So the actual projected unrestricted grants and aid. That's the state funding that we received that was um discussed um and decided in the
010uh state bianial budget. Um the unrestricted grants and aid is trending $200,000 higher than the May 25th forecast and this is the result of the final bienial budget adding a performance supplement to the state funding formula and we perform to that expectation. So we should be getting some more money which is awesome. um yeartodate um actual and projected expenditures are trending with the 5-year forecast within the majority of the categories. Actual and projected salaries and benefit expenditures are trending slightly lower than the May 25 forecast. Staffing changes and updates are ongoing and will be monitored for the financial impact. This will be updated with the October forecast. As the five-year forecast is updated and reviewed with board and administration for the October submission, there will most likely be changes in update to various categories. Once
011the final October forecast is completed, an analysis between May, the May report and the October report will be presented. Um, our cash reserves are sufficient through fiscal year 2026. Another very good sign of our fiscal health. And a financial summary report is provided to show the monthly and fiscal year-to- date cash position for the non-general funds maintained by the district. Appropriation modifications will ensure the district is in compliance with the state auditor's office and the county fiscal office. All accounts have sufficient funds available to cover the increase in the appropriations. The amendment increases allow the district to legally encumber and pay funds up to the amounts appropriated. And that is my wait. Yeah, that's my report. >> Thank you very much. Um, we don't have a buildings report, so we will move on to the
012education report with Mrs. D. Right. >> I have two items tonight. Uh, first, a field trip to Rochester, New York. The Legacy cross country team would like to part excuse me, would like to compete in the annual McQuay Jesuit cross country invitational September 26th through 28th, 2025. Other cross country team has a long-standing tradition of selecting runners from the boys and girls teams to participate. Runners are selected based on team leadership, varsity status, and dedication to the sport. There will be close to 250 schools and well over 6,000 runners competing in 26 different races over the course of the day. And then next is a gift to Lakewood schools. Paul Shootute from AJ Rose Manufacturing donated two spools of aluminum welding wire to be placed into the inventory for the welding program at West Carrier
013Technical District. That concludes my report. >> Thank you very much. >> Can I ask a question? >> Yeah, Colleen has a question regarding >> um Well, maybe it's just a shout out to um Mr. Shupe from AJ Rose Manufacturing. Um, this is our new welding program and it's great when we receive gifts that then offset the costs of these spools that we have to buy. Some of them are really expensive depending on how big they are. I kind of looked them up. Um, and but this is what is getting our students off the ground in our welding program. So, thank you, Mr. Shupe and his company. Um, and can I include my shout out for the open house on September 9th? >> Sure. Um so um the ribbon cutting open house for uh for the
014welding program and the MEMS program and the new location for Franklin School of Opportunity are all happening on September 9th and you are all invited to come. >> It's going to be a great one. Um wonderful. Okay, moving we don't have a policy update. So moving on to human resources. Mrs. Shaughnessy, >> thank you very much. We will have a total of 128 actions for certified employees, 38 actions for classified employees, nine actions for classified non-employee coaches and adviserss and 16 total actions for community recreation and education. And they are the normal appointments, special compensations, pay rate adjustments. We'll vote on those in two weeks. That brings us to the communications portion of the meeting which begins with the board of education comments. I know that we have some individual ones but I know you
015wanted to answer a group topic you wanted to bring up. >> Oh yeah. >> Okay. Could start with that. Would you rather start with that? >> No, that's fine. Yeah. >> Um so um new school year we're trying to do things a little bit differently. Try and um >> some new stuff. some new stuff. Um and um and maybe engage in some conversation where people can hear us. So like picking the meeting date. Um so this is me. A lot of way this semester is going to be about me being this government teacher, good government person. So, this one is I'm requesting or suggesting that we move our regularly scheduled meetings um for the school board to be on the second and fourth Mondays of each month instead of the first and third. City council
016meets on the first and third in their regularly scheduled meetings. They have committee on the whole on the second and the fourth. And yes, Miss Lindberg, you are exactly who I'm thinking of. um and because there are citizens who are concerned about both both agendas and we meet at the same time and you can't be in two places at once. So that is my suggestion. Um open for discussion. >> Yeah, I I think that's not a bad idea. I think even like if we are unable to attend city council meetings and and the other way around as well. So I think that that is certainly something to look into more. I would be open to that. I would agree with that as well and just encourage perhaps administration look into the the history there and
017if there's any any um reasons that traditionally that we've met on meet on the first and third and and uh if they may still be valid um you know perhaps there are some that are no longer valid that there's some you know history to it that isn't isn't relevant today but I think uh for the reasons mentioned in terms of um uh stakeholders for people being able to to attend attend and both. Um, I think it's I think it's worthy of consideration. So, thank you. >> Yeah, I'd have to chime in. I'm definitely not one of those people that likes to do things just because that's the way we've always done them. So, I'd love to open up the concept of looking into it and figuring out if there's a way to do it. Um,
018and I know I definitely am one of the people that would like to be able to have that option of attending council meetings. some if for no other reason than for the very good reason, there's a lot of ways in which some of the things that council works on intersect with what we do and and and it could do so even more if we were able to interact with each other more. Um to Mike's point, I think that there uh is a you know, we have the larger school calendar and activities and everything to take into consideration. And as I'm sure Superintendent Nwiki can attest, that is no small feat. Putting that calendar together, I know that we've all we've discussed that at these meetings a number of times. I see a couple chuckles going
019on in the audience. Um so uh and that is always an ongoing uh conversation in terms of how to improve and uh you know fine-tune the calendar for everybody's benefit. So, um, that being said though, um, it's definitely a discussion worth having. So, thank you for bringing it. >> Um, but >> yeah, I mean, I think it's worth exploring. I know city council has been asking us to change um, for quite a while. So, um, it's worth having a stand on. >> Well, no, I just I think it's worth pursuing and talking about and seeing >> if we want to change. >> Yeah. I you know I know we have those uh joint meetings a couple time one or two times a year and I think that uh >> it's always the fifth Monday of
020the month >> right whenever whatever fifth Mondays of the month that we have but um we have some great you know great colleagues on the on city council. So I'm sure there's a way we can find some common ground. So I think it's a good thing to pursue. >> Okay. And so since this is my second year, I remembered to bring it up in the fall because we vote on the agenda in January, the schedule in January, and it's all set. And so when I came when I thought of this, I was like way too late. >> Yeah. Well, there you go. >> So, um, so I'm figuring out the schedule. >> Yeah. Great. Thank you. Um, and then I some I know some folks had some ideas, some things they want to talk about.
021>> We have a couple things tonight. Um, Mr. Mr. Z, I have a question just to clarify that $200,000 um that's trending higher that is from the bienial budget and that is directed um that is from our state report card. >> Correct. It's related to the star rating and the district achieved a score of four on the overall star rating and that for qualified for that $200,000 performance supplement that is for the bianual budget for the first two years because they looked at the 24 school year. So, it will be in for the next two years for sure. Okay. >> The next banual budget, of course, that could change. >> Okay. And then, oh, go ahead. I'm sorry. >> Well, because um that would So, that's the $800,000 that is being talked about, but it's
022really a possibility of $800,000 over four years. >> Correct. It's $200,000. And again, that's an approximate. It's about 160. So, that's why over five years it totaled 800,000. Um, so that's the amount that's going to be for the next two years for sure. Okay. >> Okay. And I do just want to point out if it is tied to our state report card, um we are very privileged here to be able to provide our students with things that other districts are not able to provide their students with to no fault of their own. Um whether it be that we have we have the ability to have one parent working and one at home with kids, whether it's we have educated parents because of our circumstances in life, right? Um again to no fault of their own,
023but this is absolutely taking away and eroding from public education period. There are districts that um can will it would be very hard to achieve those numbers and they need the resources the most and they are the ones that the money is is not being given to or realistically taken away from. So please keep those things in mind as we talk about public education and think about it and just we are very very fortunate here. Um and I guess I'm just going to segue right on into my next public public school soap box here. So, uh, if you were here last meeting or if you heard me talk, I talked about, um, my experience in Lakewood High School learning about history and how important it is to teach history through a critical lens and in
024all aspects of history, all that it encompasses. Since I graduated in 2003, our class offerings have expanded and it's really been beneficial to our graduates as they go off into the world. Whether it is you are working or whether you go into college, you have this lens that others don't. Um, I've heard parents talk about how much better their students fit in from the start because for one, most of them don't have as much culture shocks as some other districts because of socioeconomic diversity that we have and some other diversity, but also because of the things that we expose our students to here. It's important to look at the real world um as they do that. So again, Republicans in our state legislature, in our federal government continue to attack public education. Um they are
025trying to take away these courses, right? They it makes people uncomfortable. But again, it's so important for our students and and really for our future that kids go into the world being able to evaluate things, being able to look at things critically, look at mistakes, what happened, why things happened, things like that. Um, so you might ask yourself, and and I think it's important to ask yourself, why might someone be so against our kids getting a good public education? Um, control is a big thing, right? They want to be able to control what people know. They want to be able to control money. That's again what makes the world go around. Um it's important to keep in mind that many religious and charter schools are not held to the same standards as public school. And
026I believe um I can't remember if we've talked about this in a public meeting, but it it was said that school choice is not school choice because it's only school choice to private schools, to charter schools, right? You can't take that voucher and go to a different public school. So we lose monies there. Um we talked about control, the loss of local control. If you take a look at our state board of education, it essentially has been stripped of all power to our elected officials and they are now appointed by the governor. So don't think that that can't happen locally. We we like our local control. We like knowing what our kids do. We value things, right? We have our own culture, our own traditions and everything. that can absolutely be taken away if we
027are not careful in what we're watching and advocating for for all of our kids and our our community again because whether you have kids in the schools, you don't have kids, your kids are graduated, this all impacts us. >> Um I've been hesitant to talk about Lifewise. If you are not familiar with Lifewise, it would behoove you to look into it. Um I could go on for way too long, so please like do some research on Lifewise Academy. They are a a Hillyard based company, but they are expanding across the United States. And what they are trying to do is take kids essentially out of public schools for the school day to teach religion. Um, we recently updated our policy, but uh it wasn't good enough. They sent a demand letter to Niola. I I
028read an article today from an NBC affiliate. I believe it was from Columbus. um they sent him a demand letter to Niola, who writes policy for the majority of public school districts in Ohio, basically saying that they could not um and I'm I'm jumping ahead a little bit, that you could not the school could not prohibit Lifewise from sending the kids back with trinkets or candy or whatever. Um I don't know if your parents ever told you, but my mom told me never to take candy from a stranger. Don't go help look for a dog. there is a reason that they have to send things back with kids to get them coming and to make other kids feel bad about not attending. Um so that um our state attorney general Dave Yoast also said that
029we basically schools needed to be careful with how limited they made this scope and how limited they made that policy and that they could be trampling on the first amendment rights to spread religion. Um, not all of our kids are Christian. They deserve a public space in school. They deserve to feel safe. They deserve not to feel bullied to go do something. So, that is something that is really taking over Ohio. And again, I could go on and on for days and days about how terrible Lifewise is and how maybe they don't do proper background checks the way that we would background check our teachers or our volunteers. I don't know how many of you have been finger checked for um background checked for volunteering. I know I have. um they don't do it the
030same ways. So, we're putting our kids I again I could go on and I won't but please if you are not familiar with it look it up and um be aware make sure that you get involved with all of that. That's all I have tonight. Thank you. >> I will I will say that the way the policy is written you won't find lifewise in any of the language from the state laws. They talk about access to religion classes during the school day. It is largely about life-wise um and very much heavily focused on um Christian-based education, but it is it is written to be non-denominational and um and so any child would be able to um the way it's now written would be able to leave school during the school day. we have to allow
031an excused absence for them to go get religion classes um during CLA during our school day instead of after school or on the weekends or during your religious day of observation for the week. Um, and this has been, it was broader and now it's getting tighter >> and we're kind of expecting that there might be some more. And there they are following the letter of the law in terms of not making it denominational. But we happen to think I happen to think I'm not going to speak for everybody. I think that what we do in our public schools from 8 to 3, we don't have enough time to do what we want to do anyway. And then we got to let them out for transportation religion class. Come back, bring a prize. Hey, I got
032this great candy bar. Like, oh my goodness. Like, go back to your reading, please. >> Well, that's not even the point. You know, they should that's there's a different time and a place for that. >> Yeah. And I I do believe they brand it as character education. Um but that's just like again the the success the success sequence. Right. And really what that means is your Christian character. >> Right. Right. >> Right. >> And our it's everywhere except when I'm looking for it. The um our lens of the Lakewood Ranger, right? Um that's our character ranger. That's our character development. We do that K12. >> Mhm. >> Well, thank you. >> Oh, on a lighter note, I walked into the meeting tonight and um our director of information technology said there was a there was
033somebody a student at the desk here writing a note. I looked at her, she had red hair. I thought, I'll bet she's a Callahan. Um, and I get this note that says, "I love you, Kenna, my middle child." And I I say that just as an example um one of, you know, why we do this and and um having first of all to be here at um Garfield Middle School where now my second child is is coming through um and a and a third will, you know, will follow in a few in a few years. Um, but I just it just made me think about um she was here performing in the band and it made me think about the wide variety of of programs and opportunities and just so many different things that just
034my three different children have experienced. Let alone um so many uh kids have the opportunity to just experience such a a a diverse um curriculum uh extracurriculars uh clubs and and just all kinds of opportunities. And that's certainly um something that that my wife and I celebrate and that we're so happy uh to have. And of course the note from my daughter is just icing on the cake. So just wanted to share that. >> That's a nice night. Um so speaking of the eighth grade bands at the ice cream social when the music department puts on a performance, it's always impressive. But when the eighth grade, like I love the fifth grade concerts at the end of the year when they do all the fifth grade instrumental and kids from every elementary school, they they
035practice once and we come in at night and they perform and it's just amazing. So tonight the eighth graders came to um play band and before uh for the ice cream social and we've been in school for two weeks and it was Harding and Garfield. Now, they'd learned, I mean, they're in eighth grade. They've been in band for a little while, right? They've learned some of these songs, but they've had two weeks to like refresh, come back and do two songs for us. And then this morning, they had a field trip to come together and practice once as Harding Carfield combined. And we were all doing the cheers with it like so. Um, again, just echoing u Mr. Callahan like just we have such cool stuff. So >> they were very good. >> They were
036>> um on a just to follow up. First of all, I'm sorry to have missed the last meeting. I was moving my eldest daughter into college um to see the uh other end of the educational spectrum. It was very exciting and uh huge change. Um but happy to see the fruits of all the labor of many people like the city schools. Um uh it was very exciting. Uh to piggyback on what Mr. Kalahan said, my younger daughter is uh fulfilling my dream of having a child in the West Shore uh uh career tech program while also still pursuing a the um you know AP courses. It's amazing that you can do almost everything when you're at the high school. Um and also like numerous musical courses as well. So, uh, I think when people get
037to the Lakewood High School, the problem is usually how do you choose? And if you have a child like mine, you don't. You just do it all. Um, so, uh, it's just really exciting. I hope everybody comes on the 9th for this ribbon cutting and just gets to see just the latest and many wonderful programs offered by our Western program and the wonderful new uh, um, quarters for Franklin School of Opportunity. Um, I also just wanted to touch a little bit to follow up on what uh, Miss Doppman was talking about with some of what is going on on outside of Lakewood and how that affects public education. Just a little bit about the federal department of education and how that affects us. Um, uh, a little bit of background and at the risk of
038having our government teacher possibly correct me. Um the department of education it's actually traces back all the way back to 1867 when it was created by Andrew Johnson. Uh but it was reduced to an office because people were afraid the federal department the federal government would have too much control of education and various incundary presidents tried to introduce it over the years. Dwight Eisenhower introduced the department of health, education, and welfare in 1953 after the war because they wanted to uh address issues such as poverty, health, poverty, health disparities, and educational inequities in post-war America. The department of educ education was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. Um, and uh we need to think about why the attacks on the Department of Education matter to us here in Lakewood. Um, part of the reason
039is that Congress mandated that the Department of Education pro has to provide the best education for all children and that means that it protects their civil rights. This means that students with disabilities must thrive alongside their peers and they have a right to accommodations that help them to do so. We're talking 504s and IEPs. Many, many children in Lakewood City Schools benefit from those programs. that we have to have educational equity for children of all races. Religious freedom in schools must be protected. Um this we have to have protection against sexbased discrimination including for our LGBTQ plus students. The department of education also collects data on how education is delivered. This identifies disparities in discipline, academic performance and educa access to resources. This helps states and local districts such as ours establish policies based on
040real data. This reduces discrimin discriminatory practices and promotes equity for marginalized students so you can base it on real things. We've talked a lot about data in this district over the last year. It's important to be able to access that. The department of educ education also protects students right to privacy. Th this enforces federal laws and gives students and parents a means for addressing those violations of privacy. This includes information about grades, discipline, medical history, family income, and more. Some of this information could even be used for deportation. So, this is very very relevant right now. And the department also provides essential support for families, students from families with lower incomes, title one families. Um, it provides student federal student loans, grants, work study programs, family resource coordinators to help support families and ensure student
041success, meal assistance through free and reduced lunches. These are things that are very relevant to our student population. The Department of Education has historically played a critical role in protecting civil rights, promoting equity, providing opportunities for all students. Gutting or eliminating the this department threatens decades of bipartisan progress towards educational fairness and reduces reverses the commitment of previous administrations Republican and Democrat alike to ensure equal access to education. As the Supreme Court unanimously recognized in Brown versus Board of Education, public education is the very foundation of good citizenship. We must all continue to advocate for the preservation of the Department of Education and its employees. The rights and success of all of our students here in Lakewood depend on it. So, I just wanted to share that with you. That concludes my comments. >> Shall
042I give you an A+ on your history? >> That was so fun. >> It is interesting to note though that um like three very different presidents, right? um obviously in different time periods but Andrew Johnson a southerner um coming out of the Civil War um and Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican and Jimmy Carter a Democrat. So it is it's been a historically very much a bipartisan um effort and our community is very much grounded in that. Um, and we take that, I'm going to say the royal wee of Lakewood takes that very seriously. And, um, I, as a board member, um, appreciate the, um, the continued, uh, investment that we make in our children every day. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? >> Okay. Sorry. Whoops. Um, okay. In the effort of um
043doing things. So, I want to make another shout out to the hike and bike week um that's happening uh September 22nd, that week. Um ride bike ride your bike and walk anytime you want, but that week we're trying to get like critical mass. Um and um there is um information um through bike lakewood and some on our website about like matching up with people and like getting on the the walking school bus. Um and I'm not saying it right and I apologize. Um but um and there is a component and this is for something for us to talk about at another meeting because I'm like way taking way too long but um but there's a component of our grant and a component of the bike lakewood um program entity where collecting data about who's doing
044what is super helpful for getting more grants um for finding out what people are actually doing instead of just sort of guesstimating. Well, we had 25 bikes today and we had 32 bikes yesterday. Um, and so, um, it's it's a teacher, um, the teachers collect the data, um, by asking their students. Um, it's sort of like a home room activity kind of thing. Um, is the way it was explained to me when I was at a hike and bike meeting. So just something for us to talk about um in terms of like is this a reasonable way to collect data and share with the hike with bike liquid. So great. But we don't have to talk about that one tonight because I have something else I want to say too. Um, I when I taught
045government, I taught students that trustworthy democratic governments require clear, accessible records, visible public officials, and educated, engaged citizens. Um, there are a group of laws here in Ohio that are designed to um, reduce behind the-scenes corrupt decision-making by elected officials. So, the one I want to talk about tonight is the Public Records Act. So, I'm going to use my role as a a board member to do some government education um along the way. But the this Ohio law requires government entities such as the Lakewood schools to maintain records of actions and policy and make these available to anyone in the general population who asks for it. During this difficult community conversation that we've been engaged in over the last year, some people have requested email chains between the superintendent and schoolboard members and the superintendent's
046emails with elementary task force members. We heard about this at the last meeting on that August 18th, which made me think about bringing this up um because at least two of the residents spoke about being on the list of topics for some of the public records requests. Um and um written communications regarding the elementary task force is public record. Emails about people's children is not. So, this was kind of stressful for um those um residents. Did I do something wrong? Is the school district really going to separate the right emails? Is something going to get mixed up? Um and so sadly, I suspect that civic engagement may decrease because who wants to go through that? Um, and so of course, you know, I'm super happy there's a a crowd like come every time. Um, and
047but to appropriately fulfill these public records requests means that every email must be reviewed by staff andor a lawyer to protect the rights and privacy of our families. We do that. Um, I talked to Mr. Zean. He's kind of our public records um, >> our guy >> custodian. Okay. Um it takes time and money. Um and so since April of this year um the school district has replied to a few dozen um separate public records requests, but some of the requests have multiple topics and subtopics in them. Um so through um Kent's supervision um the district has collated and sent these records to the various requesters. It's not all the same um person or group. Uh, since April of 2025, we have emailed and printed 10,000 pages of public records. It's a lot. Um, it's
048part of our job as a public entity. I get that. But the challenge is that another part of our job is to be mindful of money we spend and how our staff spend their time at work and finding the balance between those. in reviewing the various public records requests. It's kind of like trying to find tuna in Lake Yuri. Um, that was supposed to be a joke. The some requesters seem convinced that the school board already has our mind made up about what we want to do. And so each request, each record request disproves their assumptions. So they submit more and broader records requests. This costs more and more time and money by district staff and attorneys. Time and money that is not being directed at excellent educational opportunities for our K12 students. I just
049it I was concerned when at the meeting the last meeting when parents said when residents said and I knew that already. I knew they were on it. But it just I was like, "Wow, we better have a conversation about that, you know, just to and and again to thank um the the elementary task force people for stepping up and and joining and staying and and getting a uh finding out they're on a public records request and still coming." So, um so anyway, it just um everything's a balancing act in a democracy. It's super messy, but it's it's very mess much a balancing act of trying to do the right thing without being ridiculous. I guess I think I'll end on that. So, all right. Any further comments from the board? Okay, then we'll move on
050to uh public comments. If I will uh have another sheet. Thank you Helen. Okay. Um I will go in the order in which people signed in. If you wanted to speak, you have to have signed in and said indicated that you would like to speak. As we are all familiar, most of us who have been to meetings before, each speaker has three minutes and the timer is displayed on the screen. Um, at the end of the three minutes, your time is done out of respect to everybody else's time and fairness in terms of the length of time everybody's speaking. Um, so please pay attention to the clock because at the end of when three minutes up, your time is up. and you know just you know um you you should state your name and you
051don't have to name your address but uh your street and city of residence um and I just uh encourage everybody to maintain day decorum and um respect the people in the room and and um uh speak accordingly out of respect for everybody. So, the first person on the list is Elena McCordon. My name is Elena McCor. I live on Lake Avenue in Lakewood and I come in peace. I'm here tonight because I believe that we are actually more in agreement than not. We all love Lakewood City Schools. We're rooted in democratic values and we're thrilled for Taylor and Travis. So, why are we so at odds? I believe it is because the administration has a vision for where they want the district to go and believe this is the right path to get there. While
052many in the community have no idea where the district is going and are therefore quite concerned about decisions being made, this could be easily rectified. In 2022, this administration adopted a strategic plan with seven goals. Not one of those mention the idea of right sizing or repurposing. Without an updated strategic plan outlining the administration's new goals, it's impossible for us to see your vision. Instead of bulldozing us, you could take the time to clearly outline your vision for where the district is going and design a strategic plan that addresses our current challenges. One of your strategic goals could and should be focused on addressing enrollment challenges. However, while it should be part of the conversation, we cannot focus solely on repurposing at the elementary level. Our own enrollment data shows the largest declines at the
053middle and high school levels. These declines imply serious enough problems that families are choosing to leave to attend other schools. I find this deeply troubling as a parent of two future middle and high schoolers. High attrition at the middle and high school levels warrants urgent attention. Another goal should be focused on stabilizing or even growing our enrollment. By partnering with the city to market ourselves as Northeast Ohio's premier walkable neighborhood school district, we can attract young couples to choose Lakewood over other westside suburbs as the place they want to raise their families. A third goal could involve enhancing early childhood education in Lakewood. By collecting objective data to compare a consolidated program versus seven in-house options, you can address crucial questions. How do the enrollment projections differ between the two? What are the potential costs
054and revenue for each? Are families willing to pay more for the neighborhood school experience? What are the pros and cons? These questions must be explored before committing to a single preschool model. A fourth goal should emphasize genuine communication. It's time to move away from a PR spin in every presentation, every graph, and every email. Manipulating data and crafting narratives to justify decisions undermines trust. First, pose the questions. Next, analyze data, then discuss potential solutions. Finally, make informed decisions. Bringing your decision-making process into the public eye will create authentic transparency and repair trust. We want to support you. We want to endorse the levy. We want to work collaboratively. Most of all, and maybe I just speak for myself, we want to go back to the the days when we had no idea when the next
055school board meeting was. But that takes trust. Pause the process, define your vision, adopt a strategic plan, rebuild trust, and let's move forward together for a stronger Lakewood School District. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Emily Lindberg. >> Our next speaker is Emily Lindberg. Sorry for hi. Good evening. Uh my name is Emily Lindberg and um I live in Lauderdale. Uh I want to thank >> Miss Lindberg. Can you speak up just a little bit? Sure. turned on the vent. >> I just want to thank uh the district for beginning to support active transportation and safe routes to school. Um as someone who has been working closely with the school administration, city staff, city council, the police department, and uh the PTA council, I've seen very encouraging momentum uh starting to build with
056safe routes to school. That's why um I am concerned about the proposal to c centralize preschool into a single building. Uh right now many uh many families with both preschool and elementary age kids can walk or bike to neighborhood schools together. Um but if preschools are moved out of elementary schools, those families will be forced into daily car trips. Uh we know from experience that once a driving habit is formed uh it's very hard to undo especially when drop off by car is the most convenient option. Centralizing preschool would undermine the very goals uh the district is just starting to pursue around safe routes to school um student health and reducing traffic around our schools. I ask that the board uh to uh to consider that um that neighborhoodbased preschool isn't just about early learning.
057It's about giving families the opportunity to establish safe, sustainable, and healthy routes uh and routines from the very beginning of their child's education. and losing that opportunity would have long lasting effects on our city's ability to build a true culture of active transportation. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> So, I know I know we're not supposed to talk, but >> thank you very much. Um, our next speaker is Diane Hellbig. Hi, Diane Hellbig. I live on Richland. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening. Having been on the committee to decide on keeping or closing schools 20 or so years ago, I am aware of how difficult this decision is for all of you. Back then, we ended up passing bond issues and permanent improvement levies. And with state funds, we rebuilt
058the remaining three schools. Those three schools which are back in consideration or three schools are back in consideration are only 10 years old. That wasn't so long ago. While we are still paying for those schools, I imagine I fear we are once again planning for the moment, not for the future. We're following institutional problem solving instead of disruptive thinking. There's a saying, you can't read the label from the inside of the jar. While enrollment is fluid and will continue to have its ups and downs, property in Lakewood is not. So, let's say you close a school or two. Then they're sold to another organization. Then 10 years from now, enrollment increases and there's a need for more schools. What will you do? Overpack the classrooms? Spend more money building schools when we haven't finished paying
059for the ones we have? and what is best for the kids. Sometimes I feel they get lost in the mix. Yet they are the constituency that matters most. And pulling on that thread, the question is what is best for the families? Are we adding burdens to parents who are already stretched? Do we care? If we want Lakewood to be the place to raise a family, these questions matter. What if we plan for now and the future? Consider this. Identify the number of students currently in each elementary school area. Figure out how many classrooms are needed for the number of kids in that school. Section off the remainder of the school with a temporary partitioning system and use it for something tangential to school, like a daycare or a senior center where the seniors could read
060with the children or an adult education location. It's changeable if needed as times change and it meets current needs as well as future needs. This is just one idea that is outside the jar. I'm sure there are others. I'm not saying this is the idea. My point is this. Now is the time to think beyond the usual to disrupt and innovate for the good of our community as a whole. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Angela Joerger. Angela Joerger. >> Hi, my name is Angela Joerger. I have two kids in Lakewood and um been coming to these schoolboard meetings a lot and um I just want to say that Lakewood parents support our school board. Um the groups that you've heard, I mean the news are here right now. Hi news. Um
061the real story is that Lakewood is an incredible district. Our schools are a model for how public education can thrive in an urban community. They're diverse. They're walkable. Even if a school closes, they're still walkable. They're deeply connected to neighborhoods. They're rich with academic opportunities. Teachers, staff, and admin go above and beyond. Families move here for the schools. Alumni return to raise their children here. My husband required when we were looking for houses that we stay in Lakewood. I'm not from Lakewood, but I've been here 15 years, and I love it. This is something worth preserving and protecting from the strategic and well-funded effort to privatize, no corporatize public schools. As Miss Dottman pointed out, there are two groups in Lakewood, as we know, Preserve Lakewood schools, which is a bit like Save My Kids
062School, which I can totally understand. There's another group, a nonprofit, calling themselves Friends of Lakewood Schools that are anything but friendly to our schools. If you've heard of a demand letter to stop the district from repurposing and all this, this is the entity that sent that. So, when we're talking about transparency, we demand transparency. There's a group of unidentified no board nonprofit who is demanding to slow down the process to not let the task force information come out. This is the real story because this comes at a time when school boards are under attack. School boards in in all states are under attack. Unions are under attack. Um, Southwestern City Schools recently suggested eliminating elected school boards in a large district to curb runaway teacher unions, echoing Ramiswami's calls for appointed boards. There's union busting
063happening. Indiana has already been begun dismantling districts like IPS, replacing them with governorappointed boards. This could happen here. Here in Ohio, Dwine fired the 19 member state board of education, replacing it with political appointees. The real story is the attack on public schools. There are uh so instead of engaging in these topics, the defunding, the billion dollars of vouchers that have been given from public funds to private schools, these groups focus on one issue, one divisive issue. And if I were going to dismantle a school school board, the first thing I would do is create a divisiveness and make it seem like our board is not transparent. We support you. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, our next speaker is Reagan Classen. Re It's Reagan Clson. Sorry, >> it's Rean. >> Rean, I never remember.
064I'm sorry. >> Um, thank you. Good evening, members of the board, Superintendent Nizwicki, and fellow community members. My name is Rean Clawson. I live on Wagger Avenue and I'm a proud parent of Lakewood High School graduate and a current student at the high school. I'm speaking tonight as a longtime supporter of Lakewood City Schools and someone who is deeply committed to the future of public education in our community, our state, and our country. I want to begin by acknowledging the difficult position that the district is in as it considers the future of our elementary schools in the context of their responsibility as stewards of public education dollars and resources. I understand these decisions are never easy and are being made with thoughtful consideration of enrollment trends, budget realities, and community needs. This effort has had
065the intention of being grounded in community engagement. And yet, some of these efforts have not necessarily had the level of transparency that everyone has wanted. What concerns me most, however, is not just the potential closure of an elementary school, though that is indeed significant, but increasingly aggressive and polarizing tone of public discourse surrounding it. What began as a grassroots effort to show support for our schools has shifted into something messy and divisive. Lakewood has a long prided itself on being a city that supports its public schools. Let us not undermine that legacy by turning a challenging moment into a polarizing one. Let's keep our focus on the students, all students, and ensure decisions reflect what is best for their long-term educational experience and well-being. In my life, I've never seen a government decision that satisfied
066every stakeholder. The best scenario is to be informed and have a process that engages impacted communities. We need to have opportunities to hear updates and ask questions, even hard ones. Public input is absolutely important and should be considered, but ultimately government decisions are not up to the public. I urge the board to continue community engagement. Thank you for sharing information with the timeline and community upcoming community meeting next month or later this month to stand strong in the face of outside pressures and to center equity, sustainability and academic excellence in whatever decisions are made. And I urge my fellow community reme members to return to a spirit of collaboration and civility as we navigate this together. I stand in support of public education and consider it a civil right for students. We are living through
067a time when federal and Ohio state leaders are actively working to undermine access to public education and to censor what students are learning. Thank you for listening. >> Thank you so much. [Applause] >> Our next speaker is Zach Robach. Good evening. My name is Zach Robot. I live on French Avenue and I was a member of the elementary task force. I'm going to focus on data. We've been evaluating the merits of closing one or two elementary schools for over a year. Stepping back, however, a threshold question has been overlooked. Are the proposed scenarios physically possible as designed? Are there enough classrooms available in each school? Surprisingly, the answer is no. None of the district six scenarios proposed can be implemented because at least one school in each case requires more classrooms than it has available.
068In March, the district modeled out the number of classrooms per grade per school using a 22 student maximum K through two and 25 student maximum for grades three through five. Under scenario one, repurpose Lincoln, there'd be a large influx of students to Horus man, which would require 18 classrooms. There's one problem. Horus man only has 15 classrooms available. The rest are reserved for the CHAMP special education programs. These are not and should not be on the table for consolidation. Under scenario two, repurpose Roosevelt, Horseman still comes up one classroom short. And under scenario three, repurpose Grant, Roosevelt would be short by two classrooms. The other three scenarios involve repurposing two schools and are even worse. This data is available in the March 12th PowerPoint on slides 18 through 20 and February 19th PowerPoint on slide
06911. I want to emphasize these scenarios are supposed to optimize facility usage. The district has steadfastly defended them against huge community concern. However, they failed to satisfy the basic math of ensuring enough classrooms in every school. Could the scenario boundaries be redrawn to avoid this situation? possibly. But to make the math work, it appears to require adjusting a hundred or more students in each scenario. I have a brief explanation prepared at the end if granted extra time. I have been collective I have been constructively trying to raise this issue to superintendent Newiki and President Katzenberger privately since March and to the larger board since April when the full extent of the issue became clear. They dismiss this as a non-issue because they say the scenarios are based on projections and they will draw final boundaries
070with actual data. However, this is precisely the issue. Those final boundaries will look substantially different than the scenario bound boundaries we've been evaluating over the last year. If boundaries for hundreds of students need to be reworked from the current proposals, it'll affect all of the walkability, safety, teacher movement, and other data that underlies any decision whether to close a school, and if so, which one. Shifting gears, I actually think the task force and evaluating elementary enrollment was a responsible idea with a levy on the horizon. And the board deserves recognition for this foresight. The board articulates a wonderful vision of ideals about equal class sizes, minimizing teacher movement, and more. All while maintaining walkability, safety, community, and expanding early childhood. I think we are aligned in these ideals, and I'm personally open to repurposing a
071school. >> Thank you. [Applause] Our next speaker is Kelly Moyer. Long walk from the back. Sorry. Good evening. My name is Kelly Moyer and I live with my husband and our four children, three current Rangers on Lakeland Avenue. I'm here tonight to respectfully ask that the superintendent and school board halt the decision on closing an elementary school until we have more complete postcoid enrollment data. The reality is that the co pandemic created unprecedented disruptions in our daily lives. We are only beginning to see its long-term impact on families, housing patterns, and school enrollment. It is only been 5 years. The children born during the height of COVID are only now entering kindergarten. We are already seeing anomalies in kindergarten enrollment. There may be many reasons for this, but one I haven't heard talked about, parents
072deciding to hold their children for another year due to the complete halt in social and educational opportunities in their early lives. Who knows what numbers may look like next year and in the coming years as these postcoid babies start school. The choices their families make will play a huge role in shaping the future needs of our schools. Through my work with the early childhood PTA here in Lakewood, I have a unique perspective on our youngest families. I know of so many that decided to relocate to the Cleveland area during the pandemic to seek more family support, a lower cost of living, more space, and a focus on the walkable neighborhoods and outdoor spaces that our community provides. They chose Lakewood for these reasons. These families have settled here and have one or more young children.
073To make a permanent decision now before these trends can be analyzed would be short-sighted. What we see today is not necessarily what we will see tomorrow. Enrollment numbers at the en at the elementary level after the initial COVID drop are stabilizing as so many of you have said publicly. Making an irreversible decision based on incomplete data risks closing doors that our community may very well need open again in the near future. Let's not give our families any reason to doubt their decision to move to Lakewood for our walkable neighborhood schools or to send their children to those very buildings. I urge the board to prioritize caution and foresight over speed. With so many reasons to pause this process, why the rush? Why keep pushing forward when we have seen no compelling reasons to close and
074repurpose one of our newly built neighborhood elementary schools? Let's allow time for these post-pandemic enrollment patterns to emerge before we make a choice that will impact families, taxpayers, neighborhoods, and the heart of our community for decades to come. Thank you for your time and for your service to our district and our children. I know that you don't want to be the ones who make a decision that history will show was done in haste. You are the elected body that we chose to represent us. Do so now. Thank you. Our next speaker is Monica Brua. Good evening. I'm Monica Brua and I live on Arthur Avenue. In August 2024, the district first started sharing building capacity numbers. In February 25 and again a few weeks ago in an email, capacity numbers were shared for the school
075buildings and they didn't match. But the message seems to stay the same. A few buildings are at risk of falling below 60% capacity threshold and we must act before the state comes in and makes us sell these for our charter school. Like many others, I'm still unclear how the district is actually calculating this number. Without a clear definition, these figures can be used to tell whatever story you want. Now, in the past, the district referenced that they are using these OFCC master plan numbers. And when I spoke to the chief deputy planner of OFCC last week, she cautioned that those numbers or those calculations should not be used in this determination. Yes, I know the recent budget bill uh included this issue, but it did not pass. And I also confirmed with attorneys at Bricker
076and Graden last week that there is no guidance about Ohio Revised Code 3313.411 in any case law or an attorney general's opinion on how to calculate this 60%. But why is this concerning? First, looking only at the elementary school is shortsighted. According to the code, unused school facilities is defined as any school building used for direct academic instruction, but not less but less than 60% of the building was used for that purpose in the preceding school year. So, this doesn't just apply to elementary schools. By your own numbers of August 2024, it applies to the middle schools and the high school. All three are below 60%. It also would apply to prek if you were going to centralize a prek. Second, what are we doing proactively? For example, no one was representing the district at
077the meet the trucks this summer, the single largest event where families with preschool age childrens are there. If we want families to choose Lakewood, we need to be visible and engaged and promoting what we offer. Fellow Lakewood residents on the board, the superintendent has repeatedly told us that there is no emergency. We have a luxury of time and we are not in a dire circumstance. If that is true, then we need to use this time wisely. Pause the planning, do a strategic planning process that begins with meaningful community input and engagement, worked with the city to attract families and promote our schools and increase our enrollment. This issue is dividing our city, our Lakewood, and we don't have enough data. If we close a building or repurpose it, it is shortsighted, and once it's gone,
078it's never coming back. How can you let this happen? Thank you. Our next speaker is Andrea Salem. Andrea, sorry. Sorry, I was just repeating it for someone didn't hear me the first time. >> Hi. Um, >> thank you. >> Thanks for letting me speak tonight. I just want to start by saying that um I think calling out any side here and saying that you know some negative things about them. I was surprised to hear that earlier. I'm friends with people who are on the task force who feel very strongly about their report that they put together. I'm friends with people on Preserve Lakewood. Um these are all the same parents that I see volunteering in our kids' schools and you know donating supplies and their time. And so I think you all know that but
079I just I really wish that we would not not be doing that. Um I yeah that should not have a place. Okay. Um thanks for the opportunity to speak again tonight. I spoke in May at the board meeting and pointed out the impact of attendance on learning and highlighted the fact that closing an elementary school would make it harder for families to get their kids to school each day and therefore it would have a negative impact on student learning at the elementary school level. There are studies that go to show that um that attendance is one of the biggest impacts on student learning and it's celebrated rightfully so by um Lakewood City School District. Tonight though, I'd like to talk about two topics of concern that I still have. The first is that we will
080need to still pass that levy as a community in the near future, regardless of what changes are made at the elementary level. Now that the community has voiced so many varied and valid concerns in many different ways, emails, phone calls, showing up at meetings, lawn signs, petitions, interviews with local media. I just would urge you to pause, show transparency like you've said you want to, and show clear, measured decision-making before jumping to the closure of a school. I just really fear that this levy will have a difficult time passing if a school is repurposed before that time. The work of the task force would not be lost. If you delay repurposing a school, you would still have that information to look back on um if a decision to consolidate needed to be made in the
081future. And then the second topic relates to the topic I spoke about in May, which is just bringing it back to student learning. Um, and I only have a minute left. So, I just as a former teacher myself and a mom of three elementary school students, I implore you to remember the students. Please keep student learning the top priority as you decide what's best for Lakewood. I still have not found studies showing that opening a consolidated preschool increases student learning more than operating preschools at neighborhood schools. I have not found data demonstrating an increase in student learning because a school has one class in a grade level or three. Um, these are the reasons you've given when asked why we're even considering repurposing an elementary school. However, there are countless studies that show teacher quality
082has the biggest impact on student learning over anything else, class size, anything else. So candidly, the way this process has been executed has not only degraded trust among community members in the board and the district administration, but I would venture to guess it's not helping to attract teachers to our district with all this uncertainty. This hasn't been highlighted much by the district. I know you've taken measures to avoid it as much as possible, but if a school is repurposed, we will absolutely lose high quality teachers. >> Thank you. We now move on to other board business. Uh, Mrs. Jonathy. >> Thank you. >> We have a classified uh request classified personnel request uh requesting approval on one reading. There are a total of six actions. There are six resignations and I know they want to
083get busy on filling positions. So I move adoption of the resolution. >> Second. >> Moved and seconded. Uh Mr. Zman, can you call the role? >> Miss Kenberger. >> Hi. >> Miss Shaughnessy. >> Hi. >> Miss Clark. >> Hi. >> Mr. Callahan. >> Hi. >> Miss D. >> Hi. >> Thank you. Um so I just wanted to clarified >> positions. >> Oh, did I see classified? >> No, you may have. I just went to >> Okay. >> Those weren't certified positions, teacher positions. Correct. >> Great. Okay. Thank you. Um Okay. And do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? I >> I. This meeting is adjourned.