001[Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Good evening everyone. Today is Monday, April 14th. Uh and this is the regular meeting of the uh Lakewood Board of Education. We pre previously met in an executive session for consideration of the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of an employee or official 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 consideration of the purchase of property for public purposes or the sale of property at competitive bidding and for consideration of matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or rules or state statutes. We now return to public session and I invite you to join me in the pledge of [Music]
002allegiance. Pledge 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. [Music] Next, we move to the adoption of the agenda. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Mr. Zena, can you call the role? Uh, Mr. Katzenberger. Hi, Miss Shaughnessy. Present. Miss Clark Sutton. I. Mr. Calhan. I. Miss Dman. I. Thank you. I. Um, next we would uh like to uh have the approval of the minutes. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. All in favor? I. Uh, and then we move on to the superintendent report. Superintendent Nwiki. Good evening again, President Kenberger, Vice President Shaughnessy, distinguished board members, Mr. Zean. It is my
003pleasure to introduce our amazing principal of Roosevelt Elementary, Miss Allison Aber. Good evening, Board President Katzenberger, board vice president Shaughnessy, esteemed board members, Superintendent Nidwicki, and Treasurer Zean. I am honored to be with you this evening to share the work that we are doing at Roosevelt. But to start, it is my privilege to present the Resilient Ranger Award to an exceptional Roosevelt student, Sarah Anderson. Sarah, can you come up and recognize? Sarah embodies the vision of a Lakewood Ranger through her remarkable empathy, growth mindset, and communication skills, making her a role model for her peers. Sarah consistently demonstrates dedication and responsibility, completing her work with care and attention to detail. When faced with a challenge, whether it's academic or it's social, she approaches it with poise and maturity. She thoughtfully problem solves on her own
004and knows when to seek support, showing wisdom beyond her years. Beyond the classroom, Sarah's impact is felt throughout our district. As a member of the district leadership team, she actively participates in conversations that shape teaching and learning for our entire district. She even volunteered to present to a room full of teachers and administrators this spring, demonstrating courage and confidence, an incredible feat for someone her age. What truly makes Sarah out stand out is her empathy and her kindness. She is compassionate. She's a loyal friend, always offering a listening ear and encouraging those around her. She consistently shows up for others, making our school and community stronger. And as her teachers would be quick to add, she also has a fun side, especially when it comes to her love of pickling and veggie pickling. Pickles and
005veggie picking. Sarah, you exemplify what it means to be a resilient Ranger every day at Roosevelt, and we are so proud of your leadership, your compassion, and your dedication. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations, Sarah. Just want to shake your hand. Um, do you have anybody here with you tonight? I have my family in the I have my family in the back. Uh, my dad, my dad, my mom, my grandma, my sister, and my brother. Um, well, we would love to have them join us up here for a photo. Here we can walk over here to the pretty. There we go. [Applause] Oops. Watch your step with the cord. There we go. [Music] Good grandma. Yeah. Congratulations. Um, Alison I'm gonna ask my co-presenters to please come forward with me. That way, we're all ready up here. Okay.
006So tonight's board presentation is going to highlight three ways that Roosevelt fosters belonging at a success. Starting with a strong emphasis on attendance and improvement in this area over time. Leading this work at Roosevelt is our family resource coordinator, Mrs. Schaefer. Mrs. Schaefer plays a vital role in promoting strong attendance habits through prevention, connection, and support at Roosevelt. Mrs. Schaefer also serves on the district attendance team. Here she is. [Applause] Good evening board members. Welcome to Roosevelt. Hello everybody. At Roosevelt, 91.91% of students meet or exceed state attendance guidelines, missing no more than 10% of the year. This success is built on early partnerships with families and emphasizing the importance of showing up. From a simple I missed you to big moments like spinning the house wheel for points. We make sure students feel valued
007and motivated to attend. When concerns arise, we work closely with families to develop personalized plans, targeted interventions like morning jobs, punch cards, and at times fun videos about being prepared for school. Roosevelt is committed to making every student feel missed, supported, and encouraged to be here. With that said, Roosevelt would like to recognize one of our amazing students with the Stay in the Game Attendance W Award. Where did he go? Tonight I have the privilege of recognizing Arrow Wallace [Applause] Burch for not only outstanding improvement in attendance but perfect attendance for the first three quarters of the school year. Since the first day of school, Arrow has not missed a single minute of class in the first three quarters of the year. His dedicated His dedication to showing up every day Oh, I'm sorry. I'm
008nervous. His dedication to showing up every day on time and ready to learn is truly commendable. But beyond his impressive attendance, what truly sets Arrow apart is the kind, thoughtful, and empathetic person he is. Whether it's offering a helping hand to a classmate, sharing a smile in the hallway, or showing genuine care for those around him, Arrow makes our school a better place simply by being in it. We know that success isn't about being present. It's about how we show up for other others. And Arrow does that every single day. We are so proud of his commitment both in and out of the classroom. Arrow, keep up the fantastic work. Congratulations. Proud of you. [Applause] Congratulations, Arrow, for your excellent achievement. Like to shake your hand. Do you have any folks here with you tonight?
009Yep. My parents in the back. Oh, well, we'd love to have move them up for a photo. And [Applause] Thank you. So, we've had two students from Isabindi recognized tonight and we have other students coming up from other houses to keep it fair and equal. Okay. So, B beyond emphasizing and supporting attendance, we also strive for belonging and success in the classroom. Our faculty is committed to learning from each other and using engaging instructional strate strategies that challenge, support, and inspire our students to grow. Last year, our building goal focused on professional learning around high engagement strategies that increase the depth of knowledge that students endure in the rigor in the classroom, facilitating critical and creative thinking as well as growth mindset. as a result of our work last year. I have up here our
010I Ready math diagnostic scores from fall to spring last year. And you can see it showed great gains and growth for students across all tested grade levels. Green is good. So you'll see on top the spring and the fall window below that. So the change from fall to spring of last year. But what really stood out was the gains in the percentage of students who received two out of two points on the spring endofear Ohio State tests. So generally speaking, two-point questions are the higher level thinking questions that call for reasoning and richer problem solving. And in in addition to the number of students who earn two out of two points as shown here, which you can see huge gains from spring of 23 to 24 in the in three out of the five areas.
011But what also moved was the decrease in the amount of students who earned zero out of two and one out of two on those. So we were really proud when we dug into the data to see that and it was incredibly encouraging. So it also told us that what we were doing last year at Roosevelt moved the needle. So we decided to continue to hone in on our instructional strategies to support rich problem solving and higher level thinking in math as a goal for this year. Dr. Dr. Kristen Clark, the coordinator of teaching and learning for elementary, will now share with you just how we've been doing that. So, with a small team this fall, second grade teacher Mrs. Spazet, fourth grade teacher Mr. Johnson, Principal Abra, and myself attended the Ohio Council of Mathematics
012uh of teachers of mathematics conference where we continued to learn more about engaging instructional strategies in math and upholding high levels of rigor in the classroom. We re we returned with new ideas and collaborated on professional learning plan for the Roosevelt team that focused on three key areas. Math discourse, encouraging students to discuss, debate, and grapple with their math thinking. Reading comprehension in math, deepening students understanding of math concepts and vocabulary in word problems and open-ended problems, helping students feel comfortable with problems that have multiple solutions or multiple ways of solving them. Next, Mr. Johnson, Roosevelt's fourth grade math teacher, will share some of the professional learning our group led for the team this year. But before that, I'm excited to highlight that while we were at OCTM this fall, Mr. Johnson was honored as
013OCTM's outstanding elementary math teacher for the 2023 2024 school year. And you can see him proudly showcasing his [Applause] award and ask Mrs. Aber, can you go back a slide for a second? I just wanted to see my picture again. Um, no, honestly, um, to to kind of guide you into what we're going to talk about as far as our problem solving, if you were to look at that picture, a type of question we might ask is if Mr. Johnson's 5 foot 10 inches tall, predict how tall the other three teachers are, but justify your answer. So, we're not just guessing. They have to give reasons of why they're justifying that answer. And then, if you really want to meet ability levels, you can have them all convert that measurement to inches. So, just kidding.
014I'm always thinking math. Sorry, I had to get that off my mind. Uh, so during our staff meetings, we spent a great deal of time in our staff meetings last year sharing strategies to improve problem solving and discourse in math. We took this back to our classrooms and implemented our strategies with our students. As we saw from a previous slide, the results showed we made improvement on the higher level questions on the math state test. While we were happy with our progress, uh, we wanted to improve even more. So we spent much of this year developing strategies to make our students better mathematical thinkers and helping them justify their answers with mathematical reasoning and showing various ways to solve problems. This also helps build better number sense which is critical to understanding math at higher
015levels. So let's take a look at how this learning takes place in our staff meetings in order to implement it with students. addition that we I didn't solve it. Okay, so why don't we take a look at it and think oh so this erase that. So we got it wrong again. Oh, wait a second. Do we want to get a paper? But there's no other way. How are you going to get nine? Okay, so let's take this through. Wait. Oh, like a 17us 8. Keep keep in mind that's 8 in the morning by the way. Uh I think that's pretty impressive for a staff meeting. Most staff meetings you go to are not quite that interactive and involved. Uh but in that short clip that you just saw, there was evidence of several of our
016vision of a Lakewood Ranger competencies. There was communication, there was collaboration, there was critical thinking, and there was growth mindset, not to mention people having fun learning, which is also a great thing. And this is exactly what we want our students doing on a daily basis. As a staff, we feel that these strategies are paying huge dividends for us. So much so that we look to continue this important work with the staff once again next year. Now, I'm going to introduce our fifth grade teachers, Mrs. Kismicus and Mrs. Whan, who will now share the final part of tonight's presentation, our focus on building belonging at Roosevelt through strengthening our community. [Applause] Um, before we begin, I'd like to call up the House leaders that we have representing the houses today. Finally, it's not just as
017a bindy. I'm Mrs. Whan, the fifth grade math and science teacher, and my teaching partner, Mrs. Kosmicus, fifth grade English language arts and social studies teacher. Today, we are co-leaders of the student leadership in our house system, now in its sixth year. One of our goals this year for the house system was to work on expanding fifth grade student leadership in our houses. It's been incredible to watch students take on leadership roles within their houses. They help create ideas and facilitate. Admittedly, it is hard for us teachers to give up control and let the kids take take charge, but seeing them lead, help, and really get to know the younger students has been amazing. They're stepping up as role models and learning how to generate ideas and facilitate discussions during house meetings themselves. They are
018also learning what it's like to be a teacher, and they're developing a little empathy for us. um you can hear them after house meeting saying um how do you get them quiet and like why aren't they listening um how do you do this? So it's been a great experience for our fifth graders um to just get um the challenges of leadership and in action and they get to do it in their house meetings and they get to plan all kinds of things. So they're really doing an amazing job and through this they're building skills in collaboration, communication and global awareness which is back to our vision of Lakewood Ranger. Okay. So tonight we have a few student leaders here to share their experiences. As you saw just as you saw um I'll just go on
019for Allison. Um Sarah and Arrow are members of the greenhouse. That's mine is a bindy. And just to keep things fair, we are going to lean on our student leaders in the remaining four houses to share a little bit of perspective on their experiences as leaders in their houses. Hi, I'm Annabelle from the House of River. Now that I'm a house leader, I feel like I can talk in front of people and be loud and proud of who I am as a person and be proud of my voice and how I think. Plus, house days are fun because we we get to dress goofy and get to hype up everyone [Applause] else. Hi, I'm Adah from the House of Amstat. Now that I'm a house leader, I feel like I have more responsibility. We help
020keep the younger kids on track and and teach them how to be a role models and show them how to act and participate in and out of [Applause] school. Hi, I'm Leah from the House of Solivar. I am proud of myself for being chosen as a house leader. Earlier this year, I had to show our whole house how to do a craft that we donated to a nursing home. Later this year, we are going to have bigger events for our houses that will that I will help lead so I know I can accomplish big things. [Applause] Hi, I'm River from the House of Alterismo. I remember when I was in kindergarten and first spun the wheel and it landed on the black house. I was really excited. Now that I'm older and I see younger
021kids spin the wheel, it makes me happy and I want to welcome them to the house and help them feel special like I [Applause] did. Great job, students. Stay here because we have one more little part for you. Okay. But to conclude this evening, we've had the pleasure of sharing about life at Roosevelt, our improved attendance, instructional strategies that engage students, and student leadership capacity and community through our house system. These are just a few of the many ways that our staff and students are growing and thriving every day here at Roosevelt. Admittedly, it was hard to choose what to highlight, but there these examples reflect the heart of our community and they're made up of passionate students and a dedicated team of educators. So, we appreciate and thank you for the opportunity to celebrate
022a few of the great things happening at Roosevelt with you tonight. But before you go or we go, we have one last surprise for you. We know each of you are in houses and our students are going to help us give you a little bit more house spirit tonight. So, our house spirit's growing stronger than ever. And in the spirit of five houses, one family, we want to help you build your spirit wardrobe. So, if each of you could grab a bag or two and they there's a name on it and you can take it to the person at over here. Okay. So, Mrs. Shaughnessy. Yeah. short. Okay, enjoy. Thank you very much. love getting new swag in blue. Very good. And uh next up I have Dr. Palumbo, our assistant superintendent, who will be
023sharing our educator spotlight for the month. Thank you. Building on our years of successful work with our vision of a Lakewood graduate and with input from our many stakeholders, we proudly recognize colleagues who we believe most exemplify our vision of a Lakewood educator. Tonight, I'm honored to share with you an exemplary educator nominated by one of her colleagues to be recognized because of her commitment to our students and the ways in which she embodies our vision of a Lakewood educator. Please join me in welcoming up Rita Axford so that I can share with you how she exemplifies our visit to Lakewood [Applause] Educator. Before landing at Harding Middle School in 2020, intervention specialist Rita Axford spent a number of years in one of our CHAMPS classrooms at Horus Man. The move from elementary to middle
024school may have seemed daunting, but Rita quickly became an integral member of the middle school team by embody embodying the core competencies of our vision of a Lakewood educator and jumping right in. Her desire to continuously seek ways to enhance the learning environment for all students both in and out of the classroom led her to take on a number of leadership and advisory roles within the school. Besides helping seventh grade students master their reading and math lessons, Rita facilitates the reset room, knowing how important a safe and quiet space can be for students. Rita also chaperones the eighth grade trip to Washington DC. She launched the stitchers afterchool club for students to learn knitting and crocheting. The therapeutic nature of the craft is one of the reasons stitchers appealed to her said Rita. It's fun
025to see kids get into something that could help them in ways they don't even know. She says Rita's involvement with students in various settings, her empathy and ease of communication allow her to build meaningful connections with her students across their years at Harding. It's not just the students she strives to connect with either. Rita has served as an officer on the Harding PTSA all four years that she's been there and did so at Horus man as well. She knows the importance of building relationships with parents and says it's also a good way to get to know the community even better. Says Rita's nominator, teaching and learning coordinator Casey Squireers. Rita Axford is an outstanding educator who consistently goes above and beyond for her students and the entire school community. She embodies our vision of a
026Lakewood educator, making a lasting impact through her dedication, leadership, and compassion. Thank you, Rita. And congratulations. Congratulations, Rita. Nice to see you again. Think we're going to do the old moving the podium. with you tonight. Um, my parents, my daughter, and her husband, and my husband. Well, let's have them all come up. [Applause] Congratulations. Please this way. Thank you. And that concludes the superintendent report. Thank you very much. At this point in the meeting, we usually uh give folks the opportunity if they don't want to stick around for the business part to go on their merry way. You're obviously welcome to stay if you'd like, but if you only give you a couple minutes if you don't choose to do so. into it, but we didn't. I was like, I just need to know if
027I'm right. Wish you could ask. Yeah, I was going. Yeah, I think there's some extra seats up front. If those of you who might be standing would like to have a seat, come on up. Okay, thank you very much. We have four comments first. Not yet. She didn't tell me a total number, but I'll let you know. Uh, first we'll start with board comments. Would any of my colleagues like to start off? You know, I always have something to say. So, um, so, um, tonight, um, I want to, um, express gratitude to a couple of, uh, different populations within Lakewood. Um, first I am grateful to the entire crew, cast, musicians, and adults who performed Lay Miz this past weekend. Oh my goodness. And I'm sure Miss Katsenberger is going to have a little shout
028out as well since her one of her daughters was on that stage. But I love theater of any kind. And um I counted my husband and I have we attended like 24 different stage performances in 2024. Like we just go to theater. That's what we do for fun. And um and I've now seen um four different performances of layiz. And all of the others were at Playhouse Square. Um by the third time I'd seen it, I told my husband that I couldn't go to anymore because the shine was starting to wear off. Um, when you see something too many times, but I wasn't going to miss Lakewood School students. Um, I cried. I laughed. I held my breath for the super high notes and the low notes. Like, are they going to make it? And
029they made every one of them. The pit was orchestra was amazing. I could just go on and on and on. All of it was just incredible. and it is so awesome to be part of this. Um, and so I that's my first note of gratitude. Um, on a sad note, um, I am grateful to, um, our Franklin School of Opportunity, um, staff who are helping WE Torres's family and all of their students, um, as they process the grief of Wim's, um, untimely death over the weekend on his 19th birthday. Um, all of our staff um at the Lakewood Schools do so much above and beyond the job descriptions of teaching content, managing data spreadsheets, answering phones, serving food, keeping our floors clean. Um, the care and concern that we give to um that they give
030to students um every day. Um, and that's especially evident this week um at uh at Franklin and um at other schools where um his siblings are. So, um, and then lastly, um, I I'm just grateful for every student and parent, um, and their families who are struggling in whatever way that they are struggling to keep doing their best to put school attendance and accomplishments um, at the forefront of their days. Um, that's not always easy. and um and we appreciate um the growth mindset that that takes to get your children to school every day. So, thank you. I might have to piggy back on your comments, Colleen, because I was going to talk about Lays. Um I have to commend the 1700 people who attended those three performances. uh was quite remarkable, especially the uh
031parents who brought their young elementary and middle school kids to the performances because uh I know that for a lot of people that spark starts when they see kids that they know in the community up on those stages uh on the that stage uh performing the way they did um whether it's uh in the on stage or in the orchestra or the kids who do the um lighting or sound or stage managing. There's a just a tremendous effort that goes on, not to mention our incredible faculty who um make all that magic happen. And so, uh it it really was a tremendous effort. I know that there were 38 actors that were on stage, not and countless other kids involved. Um so, it really was wonderful. Um and uh you know, there were a couple
032moments where you're just like, "Wow, this really feels like a professional production." I know everybody who I know who attended said that exact phrase. Um so another high point for Lakewood. Um as there will be many more this spring. We're going into concert season. Um and a lot of other wonderful things coming up that'll start wrapping up the school year. So um lots of fun things to look forward to. I know it's going to be a scramble for a lot of parents because it get the calendar gets really busy. So thanks in advance for keeping up with it. And um I kudos to all the high school juniors who especially the ones involved with the play that then had to go take the SATs this morning. Um I feel for you. Um so thank you
033again for everybody involved in who made all that happen. Any would anybody else like to Yeah, I just um wanted to thank the staff at Roosevelt. The house system is fantastic. My kids go to Hayes and it's been really fun to watch it kind of grow and it's my understanding that it's expanding which is fantastic. Um, so thank you for being advocates and bringing it in and and kind of getting it started and and getting other principles excited about it. I think the kids are going to love it. So, thank you for that. Um, and again, I think it's worth recognizing that anonymous donor who donated just over $1,300 to clear those negative lunch balances. It's something that we kind of take for granted and we're able to take for granted. So, um, just handling
034that I think is fantastic. And then just your friendly reminder to pay attention to state legislature as the budget sits right now. Um, the Browns will get a bond of triple what schools are getting in that and it's not passed. So, please continue to be loud and and make your voices heard with the state so that we make sure that our public schools are funded and maybe we can just be a little more public school friendly. [Applause] Anyone? I concur with all comments. Wonderful. Um then we will move on to the public uh comment section of our agenda. Um I believe we have 18 folks signed up to speak which is not surprising considering this full room of folks. Um a reminder that each person uh gets three minutes to speak and we do uh
035cut you off at three minutes. Don't take it personally. It's just to give everybody their equal time and to keep things moving. So um uh so thank you for your patience in that regard and I will read off uh oh we have another sheet so it might be a little bit more than 18. Um but uh I will read off your names and when I do you can come up to the podium and uh I appreciate everybody's patience. Um so our first person who signed up is Annette Clawson. Superintendent, Treasurer, board members, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak this evening. My name is Annette Clawson and I live at 1606 Elwood Avenue. I would like to address a concern that I've not heard discussed at any of the meetings I have attended.
036I would like to talk about property values. I moved to Lakewood in 1995. Prior to that, I lived in North Dakota, Alaska, and Virginia. Every place we lived, we purchased homes within easy walking distance to elementary schools. In North Dakota, there was our house, Harry's house, very quiet road, and the school. In Alaska, we were on a culde-sac that backed into a gate in the fence that surrounded the school. In Virginia, there was a paved path next to the creek behind our house that led right to the school. This was not luck. This was wise and deliberate. Every time we moved, our homes sold quickly and at a profit. At times, the appreciation allowed us to adjust our mortgages. When we moved to Lakewood, even though our children were grown, we again purchased a home
037down the street from an elementary school. I was a teacher and was fortunate to find employment in Lakewood, both at Grant and then the high school. I often walk to work. I am now retired. You may not be aware that the state teachers retirement system in Ohio has had only three cost of living raises since my retirement in 2011. A 3%, a 2%, and a 1%. I am depending upon the appreciation in my home to help support me if I need to go into some type of care facility as I age. Young families are moving here because our community has the essence of an earlier suburb. We have porches, a downtown, mailboxes on our homes, sidewalks, parks, the lake, and elementary schools within easy walking distance. Our aging homes are well-maintained because we assume that
038we or our families will profit when they are sold. I have heard you express some concerns about an upcoming levy. I tried to Google when the last school levy failed in Lakewood, but the information I found did not go back that far. I know it was about the same time as the last teacher strike upon which I could also not find any historical information. I believe that our lake that Lakewood will continue to support levies as long as we feel supported by the board that we have elected. In conclusion, I urge you to listen to your community and leave our seven elementary schools intact. Thank you. Oh. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michael Drops. Superintendent, Madame President, uh thank you for having the meeting at Roosevelt. It took me a whole five minutes to
039walk here. I appreciate that. Harrison would have been 25 and I was I'd have to drive, but walking here was five minutes. So, that's great. Um, I know we're all concerned about the schools and everything, but I think there's another thing that parents should be aware of, and we should be watching the state of Ohio and school funding. Mike DeWine has not been nice to us, and neither is this head of the the two Senate and House people. And also so we need to be paying attention to it. I would recommend for parents there's a website called 10th period that talks about education and it gets quite clear as to what's going on. So thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Our next speaker is Monica Brua. It is. Good evening. My name is Monica Brua and
040I was a cheerleader for four years of Lakewood uh football and I will always be a cheerleader for Lakewood schools because we are on one team. I have three children currently. Uh, two are at Grant and one is signed up for all day prek next year at Grant. And it may seem like we have two sides and there's got to be a way that we work together towards a common goal. Lakewood City Schools mission states in partnership with our families and community that um Lakewood City Schools will develop responsible citizens who are critical and creative thinkers committed to a lifelong learning invested in a diverse society and prepared for technological and global opportunities. So in partnership with families and community. The Ohio Schoolboard Association website describes being a board member. says it takes a deliberate
041and intentional efforts of a governing body who has a unity of purpose focused on students that the board is a policymaking body and members are the chief adviserss to the superintendent on community attitudes. Previously, some people have expressed how a their child might have been moved from school to school due to a relocation or building project and then said their children has turned out fine and that children are resilient. And I say consider yourself lucky. You might have a neurotypical child and there are so many of us others that have a child on an IEP or a 504 plan and we know that just by changing the color of plate that you give them at dinner, it's going to disrupt the routine and set them off for the next 90 minutes. Not all children will
042be fine with the new school. roughly 16% of, you know, Lakewood has school-aged kids in the system and and maybe you're thinking you're going to focus on that 84%. But we're all taxpayers here. Voters supported you um for a construction bond for three schools by a whopping of 70% and improved our operating levy in March of 2020 by a similar margin. And if one or two of those buildings go away, we still owe on them for until 2043, 18 years. When I talk to people, and I've talked to hundreds of people, very few are comfortable with their tax money going towards a community rec center or centralized prek as your own survey bore out. It is fiscally responsible to do with the bond money what the voters told you to do with it. Partnership with
043family and community. I think we can embrace that. I think there are ways to arrive at this decision. And with no enrollment emergency, no dire circumstances, it is only logical to me to keep all seven schools open. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michael Alexander. Good evening. Good evening. Hey board, Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Treasurer, proud moms and dads, city of Lakewood residents. Uh my name is Michael and I am a proud dad of a Lincoln grad. She's at Harding now, as well as a first grader in the Lakewood City School District. um you know, these homes. I'm going to piggyback on some of these ideas because I'm sure you haven't heard too many new ones yet, but it's it's it's to the point where you plop these houses in other parts of of
044of the region and they don't draw this value that they have in Lakewood. In my opinion, I don't think that the hundred-year-old soggy basements or the little teeny tiny closets that some of these rooms have are, you know, or the little postage stamp lots, you know, these these things are not what's drawing people. Young, well-educated people who want a good education for their children. This is not why they're moving to Lakewood. In my opinion, they're moving because of the walkability, the bike ability, the public transit. I take the 55 downtown every day. I I try to encourage my children to understand that this is a way of living. You don't have to jump in the minivan to go places. You can go places by many modes of transportation. And so for me, when I get
045to It's hard not to watch that clock. And the uh so when when you go to the school, there was a period of time where I would drop my daughter off. We'd ride bikes to Lincoln. A fist bump, a hug, a a planning of a playd date. These are things that happen when you're in the courtyard waiting for your child to come out. Sometimes with a smile on their face, sometimes not. But when they come out of the door and you're picking them up and you're walking home, you're taking their bag, they're you're asking how their day was. it's different than when you're sitting in a stupid carline waiting for, you know, your turn to get in. And so I don't believe that it's the same. Um it it's just not the same. And so
046if you take this away, you can Google it. I'm currently, you know, x minutes from my school. But you take it away and I got to go to the next closest school, wherever that is. You know, it says 15 minutes. I'm 6' one. Do you know how my seven-year-old her she got little tiny legs, you know? So, I'm trying to persuade you that it's this walkability argument that we're talking about here. It doesn't apply. And so, I guess in conclusion, I just want to say in my kindest, most calm, respectful dad voice that I try to use at home, not always. Pretty pleased with Sugar on Top. Don't close any of these schools. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Charles Reinwald, superintendent. Um, so I support keeping all the schools open and I
047concur with all the good points made so far today. That's kind of they were all covered. I guess the only other thing I would say is that people who drive their kids to school already will have to deal with twice the lines and people that don't drive their kids to school have to drive their kids to school. So just something else to consider. Thank you. Uh our next speaker is Todd Phillips. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for allowing us to speak tonight. Thank you everyone for being here. My name is Todd Phillips. I have three children. One is a first grader at Lincoln. Another will be a kindergartener next year and then the next one will continue in a few years. Um, I echo the sentiment that we should keep our schools open
048and that's from our personal experience and the energy we feel for that purpose, but it it's found its foundation is in the publicly available information. So, while I echo that sentiment that's been shared so far tonight, I als I particularly want to talk about the perception of this situation. whatever is or isn't going on behind the scenes, much of the public feels that this has been mismanaged. Okay, that's the perception. Now, I continue to attempt to have an open mind about this. I stand here right now if we close one or even multiple schools and it can be demonstrated that is a positive for this community and for our students, I'm on board. I support you in that. Unfortunately, it's been pretty difficult to do that so far, particularly with the introduction of this situation
049being presented last fall with a series of solutions before there was truly a thoroughly defined problem. So, in addition to that, the additional information that continued to come out uh appears to support school closure less. So again, unfortunately, perception is reality and I'm very concerned with that perception both for the strength of the system for families that are currently in it as well as those who are potentially going to be in the system and are considering moving to Lakewood. As many indicated, my family, my wife and I moved to to Lakewood from Denver 9 years ago without kids. There are so many great ways or reasons to be in Lakewood. We would not have chosen Lakewood among those many things if the school system wasn't strong in demonstrating that would be stronger and continuing to
050evolve. Of course, back at that point too that very notably the schools that are on the chopping block potentially were brand new and celebrated at that time largely for our a year later we were a part of that great look at what we're doing here in this community and what we can be a part of for those who've made those decisions before us. So, as people continue to scratch and claw to come into this community, what are they going to do now when they're doing that research? There was a gentleman who spoke and he had moved from Boston with no knowledge of this community. He spoke last week's board meeting. He's concerned what would he have done at the same time last year. Would he have come to Lakewood? Would he have had to settle
051somewhere else based on the information we have right now today? That at a minimum is a very large concern for me and how the school system is heading in a direction regardless of what did does or doesn't happen. The perception is out there of what what's going on. So in conclusion, I just want to say take the right action now for the long term. We need the win for the levy. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Cindy Streig. Thank you, President Kenberger, members of the school board. Superintendent and Treasurer. My name is Cindy Strebig and I am a member of the elementary facility task force and I wanted to share my experience on this task force with you. Since joining the task force last year, I have found this experience to be professional,
052inclusive, appreciative, and open to suggestions. I have received regular and detailed information from the superintendent and although I don't have children in the schools and have not attended them myself, my questions and opinions have been answered and considered. Excuse me. The meetings have been informative and congenial and the task force members have work in a worked in a focused and professional manner. I just want to say thank you for providing a structured process to review and evaluate the data to provide for the best experience for all of the volunteers. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Erin Barbie. I have one of those kid kids that doesn't like change who thrive who thrives on routines whose teacher knows that if something's going to be weird that day, he's going to need 10 days 10
053heads up that before it happens. Since preschool, kids have called him weird. But now he's developed a set of friends that not only tolerate his quirks, but embrace him for for them. But we live on the very edge of the Roosevelt area. So come third or fourth grade, when things get even harder and kids get even meaner, he would most likely be back at square one as he was separated from all his friends. Please don't do that to him. He wouldn't be the only one back at square one. So would all of us parents, Mrs. Aber, Mrs. Schaefer, Mrs. Farmer, Mrs. Foset, Mrs. all know us to a degree that absolutely blows my mind. Our names, who our kids are, how to best support us, and even the way to start a phone call so
054that I don't immediately go into panic mode. They know when my mouth says yes, but my eyes say no. I don't doubt that the staff at other schools are great, but this is a relationship that has been developed and can't possibly be passed along and a student's record. Please don't do this to us. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michelle Sykes. Six. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Michelle Sykes and I'm here tonight not just as someone who grew up in this city and graduated from Lakewood high from Lakewood public schools K through 12 competing in track and cross country. But as someone who believes deeply in the kind of community this city can continue to be one where children thrive because their schools are close, connected, and central
055to their everyday lives. My brother Roger and I walked to school every single day from kindergarten through fifth grade. We didn't realize it at the time, but those short walks shaped us in lasting ways. They gave us independence. They gave us time to think, to talk, to decompress before and after school. They helped us stay active, not because anyone told us to, but because walking to school is just part of our routine. It grounded us in our neighborhood and gave our parents, my mom who's in the audience tonight, peace of mind knowing that our school was part of the fabric of our lives, not a long commute away, not a place we had to be driven to. What concerns me about the proposal to close our elementary schools is that it risks severing this kind
056of connection. When schools are consolidated and moved farther away, kids lose the chance to walk to school. Families lose that daily rhythm. Neighborhoods lose a core institution that makes them feel whole. Walking to school is not a luxury. It's a public health benefit, an environmental benefit, and a powerful social equalizer. And it's part of what makes our city special. We shouldn't take that for granted. Closing these schools will negatively affect our children's well-being as well as their access to exercise, to their independence, and to our sense of neighborhood identity. I understand the pressures you're facing with this decision, and I urge you to consider the long-term costs to public health, to educational opportunity, and to the soul of this community. Let's preserve what makes Lakewood special. The walkability, the connectedness, and the care that these
057schools represent. Let's preserve one of the core reasons families choose Lakewood and keep our schools open. Thank you. Our next speaker is Roger Sykes. Uh, good evening. Uh, good evening to the board. Thank you so much for allowing us to speak out here and good even to all the folks that came out tonight, care about our schools. And I did just want to shout out all the public school teachers um in Lakewood and otherwise who who show up and fight for our kids every day and and they don't get the the respect that they need. I know this school board does, but but generally, you know, public school teachers don't get the love and the respect that that they that they should get. Just want to affirm that that I got love for public school
058teachers. Um, my name is Roger Sykes. I'm a a proud graduate of Lakewood Public Schools. Um, I graduated in the class of uh 2005 Lakewood High School. Um, and I was uh I went to Grant Elementary School. My sister, Michelle Sykes, just spoke. Michelle, I love you. It makes me so proud to hear you speak uh publicly. Um, it really it moves me. Um, I want to talk about the benefits, you know, of getting to school. Michelle and I, Gosh, we got to walk to school. Um, every single day, you know, from from Little Arthur down Hillyard, hollered at the crossing guards, um, at at Elmwood and and Hillyard, we picked up folks along the way. Um, that serendipitous, you know, relationship like, "Hey, pop pop out of your house. We're walking together. We're walking
059as a crew. We're going to get there together." Um, that time was so special. you know, I didn't I didn't maybe wasn't as conscious of it when I was a little kid, but man, when I reflect on it, that time we had together was really special. Um, I want to focus, you know, more on relationships here. I got one of my lifelong friends over here, Dan Stevens. Phil and Dan Stevens, twins. They uh they went to Grant Elementary School also. And man, we still kick it once or twice a week. We've been friends since since we went to Grant. Um, we went to, you know, we get on our bikes, go from Grant to Kaufman Park. We'd play baseball. We'd play pickup football. We'd play at the basketball at the Harding Cages. We'd have this
060interaction, you know, with each other, with our friends, and with people that we didn't know, with people who are different than us because Lakewood has that density um and and that kind diversity of of uh life experiences right up here in Lakewood. That's such a strength. Speaking to the notion of differences within the public schools, we have a melting pot. We really do. In our time, we had Bosian immigrants, um, Albanian immigrants, Middle Eastern immigrants, uh, we had African-American youth, certainly Irish Catholics. We we had a whole a whole melting pot. And within these within these schools, that's when we learned to work through our differences and build unity, you know, within these public schools, especially the localized schools. At Grant Elementary School, I don't know if folks are still eating fiestada, but we had
061fiestada uh, at Grant Elementary School. It's delicious. I actually don't know the schools are still doing it, but there would be pork fistada and then uh non-pork viistatada. And that was to reflect because we had a lot of Islamic folks up in that school and and that localization that that relevance to the neighborhood that understand that really sharp understanding of the people around the block added so much value and and really helped to build unity um in the schools and certainly you know in my in my life beyond. So please protect the schools. Thank you so much for for hearing me out. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bill Cannon. Bill Cannon. Okay, thank [Applause] you. Our next speaker is Peggy Meisen. Thank you all for allowing all of us to speak. Obviously, we don't
062have children in the school. I think you can tell my my gray hair. However, we have four grandchildren that are three. Two are currently in Lakewood schools. Two more to come. We live at Edgewater and Summit. We have a neighborhood because of our neighborhood school. We know our crossing guard. We know the kids that walk the block. We see them go. We say hello to our crossing guard. We go to things at Lincoln because we're part of the neighborhood. The school makes our neighborhood a neighborhood. We I grew up in Lakewood. My neighborhood school was McKinley. Okay. How's that? Um, we really feel that the feeling of the neighborhood for the little bit older people who don't have children directly in the school system would be lost if we get rid of one, two or
063three schools. I would really like you all to consider reconfigure the schools for three to five years. Look at this again and then consider. Also, I know you have a levy coming up. We totally support public schools. You will have one heck of a time, and I'd like to use a different word, trying to pass a levy because people will not understand there's a separation between the activity of possib of closing a school and your levy. That will be a very very difficult thing to sell to the majority of the community. I don't think I think it's really important that you look at current census numbers and current numbers of kids that are either somehow in daycarees in private daycarees, public day carees in the city to find out who's coming down the road. Our
064new our two new our next two grandchildren will be coming into the school system in two to three years. There are a lot of small families, young families and I think Don't move too quickly on this. Study it some more. Maybe reconfigure the lines before you decide to close any schools. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Allison Gaul. Good job, Mom. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Allison Gaul. I live on Ethel Avenue with my husband and our two school-aged children, a second grader at Lincoln, and a pre-K student in Taft's full day program. I'm also rounding out my 19th year as an English teacher at Uclid High School. [Applause] Because of my background, I'm familiar with district level changes, levies, building projects, and initiatives like early education models presented as something like
065Uklids at the Lincoln community meeting. I could certainly speak to why that comparison doesn't fully reflect Lakewood, but tonight I want to focus on the core issue underlying our current situation, trust. Since the task force was announced, I've attended community and board meetings, spoken with task force members, and had many conversations with friends and neighbors. And what I've seen over and over again is the erosion of trust between the community and the district's leadership. That erosion now threatens to extend to the school board as well. To begin, the initial information shared at early meetings was often outdated, inconsistent, or unclear. The reasons given for plans are still vague or only partially supported with data. More recently, public sentiments have taken on a troubling us versus them tone. That is not the kind of representation I
066was voting for when I elected this board, and it's not how I want to feel about the leadership of my children's school district. I've seen a district succeed and struggle through levy campaigns, administrative turnover, including five superintendent and nine building principles, as well as school level and districtwide restructuring. What consistently undermines community support to these changes is a breakdown in trust. I've watched it unfold in Uklid and I see Lakewood's leadership on a similar path if it continues to pursue this without meaningfully engaging with more community input, especially given the current overwhelming public support for keeping all elementary schools open. Once that trust is fully broken, it's a long road back and the consequences are real. operational levies become harder to pass and confidence in leadership, board members included, declines. That's not a threat. It's
067something I've already witnessed. And as a teacher, I can tell you that broken trust affects us directly. It makes collaboration with families harder and it leaves educators feeling unsupported. Teachers, too, need to trust that our board and community are united with the community's confidence behind it, particularly during challenging moments, including the changing landscape of public education. I urge you, the board, to pause, rebuild trust, re-evaluate priorities and needs after the levy, cast a wider net for ideas, and work alongside the community to find shared solutions. Trust matters in classrooms. It matters to families. It matters to educators. We all feel its absence. Your final decision can show that you understand how much, and that you're committed to continue earning it. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Amy Cipiel. Cispiel sepiel there. Thank you.
068Sorry, what was your last name? Cio. Oh, thank you. Am I the right person? Amy, you are. I just couldn't quite read it on the Allison. That was so beautifully spoken. Why am I following you? Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'll be brief. I don't want to be redundant here. Um, uh, I just like would like to say I do feel that the decision to close or consolidate schools is absolutely inconsistent with the culture and lifestyle of the Lakewood community. I feel that if you surveyed families in their various neighborhood pockets, I would assure you that their walkability to school was highly appealing and likely a selling point when they were shopping for their homes. Um I feel this uh plan is out of touch um and has no sense of the
069value of community connection that happens when families and neighbors are walking together, waiting at the front door together, um planning impromptu playdates like kids always want to do at the end of school days. Um those few minutes of conversation um connect connectedness observation of the kids playing rolling down the hill you can't measure that in dollars but I assure you that it is valuable I think it is what makes Lakewood shine bright the consolidation plan clearly doesn't see nor value that um I also feel that the plans laid out seem to shift financial and logistical ical burden onto families, your taxpaying um residents. Um last point, I encourage just as you encourage our children to live by the visions of a Lakewood graduate, I encourage you to adopt the visions of a Lakewood graduate and
070working through this process and really hear our voices here tonight. Um in particular, I look at the points of collaboration, a growth mindset, and empathy as we're working through this process. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is John Mori. Hi. Uh, you pronounced it right. Thank you. Um, so my name is John and I live a literal stones throw away on Lincoln Avenue. Um, thanks for having me here tonight. So, I currently have a two and a three-year-old. Um, we live obviously right across the street. Obviously, I have a vested interest in keeping Roosevelt open. Um, I would like all seven elementary schools to stay open. Um, but one of my main concerns is pedestrian safety. Uh, so I'm an engineer. I can't help looking at the numbers, but um if you close Roosevelt,
071just as an example, then you've bounded this whole area by Madison, Bunts, and Warren. So if we do two crossings a day over six years, that's over 2,000 crossings of a busy street that all have to do with my kids just for one kid's course through elementary school. Um, so I ask you all to think about the last 2,000 times you crossed Warren. Um, for those of you with photographic memories, how many close calls did you have? So, how many additional major street crossings would there be by closing a single school, let alone two, when you multiply that by all the students in the district that would be affected? Um, and I'd argue that the increased chance of pedestrian collision doesn't have a dollar value. Um, so on top of that, uh, I I know
072we brought up a number of other things at the last meeting here with the planning task force. Um, there there are 495 housing units currently under construction between the downtown Lakewood project and the Barry Buick dealership alone. Um, when I brought that up at the last meeting, I was told, "Oh, those are highincome, you know, those won't be people with kids." Well, when when my wife and I moved here, we were two renters. We were, you know, dual income, no kids, and part of the reason we decided to stay and buy and have kids in Lakewood is the walkability and our proximity to this elementary school. Um, so just think of that when you're thinking of these new housing units, not to make assumptions based on what type of housing they are. Um, third, I
073think the voters of Lakewood have essentially given the sto school district a blank check over the years, and I think that's because of their support for the schools and what they're doing and for the support of our seven seven elementary schools. So, that's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Aaron Carrian. Erin Carrian. There we go. Thank you. Uh my name is Aaron Carrian. Um I wanted to first echo um really all of the comments that I've heard tonight. They've been amazing and I'm so impressed with all of you that the comments you put together. You're so well spoken and just so well thought out. So first of all echo everything you guys have said. Um I'm a graduate of Lakewood schools. I went to Lakewood schools K through
07412. um along with my two siblings. My dad is here with me tonight, still a Lakewood resident as well. Um I have two students in the Lakewood schools currently, one at Garfield and one here at Roosevelt. So I'm here on behalf of the Roosevelt community and just wanting to speak um and letting you know how special Roosevelt is. I think a big part of tonight is having you here in our building to really see firsthand a little bit about what Roosevelt is like. Um, I feel like it's very special and I think everybody can probably say that about their own neighborhood school. There's a unique fabric, a a unique community, a unique personality that is really cultivated each of these schools. And I've heard other parents say it tonight, how they walk in the door
075and the teachers know their students and they know their families and they know their little quirks and everything about their families. So, I I just feel like that's really important um and something that we really can't quantify. You know, I've read all the data. I've looked at all the paperwork and everything for the task force. I've read all the articles at both sides of everything. But the reality is that some of the stuff that we're talking about is stuff that you can't really quantify. It's just kind of gut feel and it's something that we have to think take into consideration as we're making these decisions. So what I wanted to just come up and say is I just hope that you guys also take that into consideration as you start to make this decision and
076move forward. So that's my ask for you guys. Thank you. Our next speaker, I'm having a hard time reading the name. It's uh Earl Aaron Felco Fel. Anybody here sign up with the initials EF? Anyone? Anyone? Okay, think about it. And if you think it might be you, get back to me. Um, I do have a Jeff McCart on the list. [Applause] Hello everybody. Um, my name is Jeff McCort. I live on Lake Avenue. I have two children that go to uh Lincoln Elementary School. Um, and uh, just hearing the stories, I share a lot of the same sentiments that were uh, that were echoed uh, in opposition to the the repurposing plan. And specifically, you know, we we were recently on the buy side of what we talk about with the property value uh,
077decision in 2021. We made the decision after COVID to move into Lakewood and to invest in Lakewood specifically because of the schools and the investments that you had just made in the schools and specifically chose our house in the specific area because it was walkable to the school that we chose every day. Rain, shine, warm, cold. I'm walking my kids to school with our dog Bruce every single day to and from school. It's the happiest moments of my day every single day having those conversations with them and to and we did the walking bus this year and it was awesome. And so to to go from that expectation of like, wow, this this is delivering. Lakewood is delivering. This is sunshine and gumdrops to then this fall I find out that our son's first grade
078class is going to 27 students. One teacher, 27 students in first grade. And with a lot of advocacy, thankfully somebody within the architecture was able to help correct that. But then what we found out in that process was this is not a one-off mistake or a growing pain. This is part of the plan. This is the strategy is to downsize the schools and to be able to boost the class sizes. And going through that process led to the task force, which I had no idea that any of this was happening until we went through this process this fall. So, look, I I don't question at all any of your intentions or your intelligence. I know you're all very bright and committed people with phenomenal backgrounds. We just recently voted for three of you. I asked
079community members. We did our diligence on who you all are beyond what I normally do when I go into the the voters booth. So, I know that you care about Lakewood schools, but having given everybody the benefit of the doubt and dug into this process, I went back to the start. All of your public materials. I went through all of it. I'm a lawyer by trade. I'm an entrepreneur that started successful businesses. I've been through financial planning, fiscal, budget processes. I know what fiduciary duties are. I went through the whole thing and tore it apart and said like what am I missing that these people are seeing that has you know somehow evaded everybody else that's spoken out about this process and the further I got the more it appeared that the process is broken
080and so my two observations from going through this process are one I see a lack of strategy at the board level your strategic plan that was set in in 2022 is essentially a vision statement that mentions nothing about budgetary concerns that mentions nothing about consolidating schools so with no strategic plan. You appear to have taken one line item and turned that into a three-year railroad that now as you have opposition is being met with a lot of unfortunate PR branding and spin. Thank you. Something that we're hoping you'll correct. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lauren Whiteick. There you go. Hi. Hi. Hi. Thank you again for letting us all speak and thank you all for attending and speaking. I'm not as smart as the people that spoke before me and I don't have all
081the numbers. And so I was thinking like, well, what can I do that could be something to bring to the table that people haven't already brought because I agree with everything everyone has said. And I will tell you this morning as I was walking my daughter to school, I stopped 10 parents and I said, "Hey, are you going to the meeting tonight?" And they said, "What?" And I said, "The meeting?" You know, like about the budget. And they all looked at me, nine out of 10, and said they had no idea. I mean, all these people get it because they're here. Nine out of 10en people I walking surveyed said they had no clue. One mom said, "Well, I think I got an email about it." I mean, that blows my mind. And so, I
082just wanted to bring that up to you guys. I think we need more communication. And also, emails fall in junk email folders. So, perhaps if there's a way to put a sign in front of the schools or have someone there with like an iPad and take those surveys, write live. So, we are here, we came here, we're very proactive, but a lot of people are very busy. if we could be in front of the school or by the school and and actively survey them, I think we'd get a lot more opinions. And I just don't think that all of us, not, you know, the exception of everyone here in this room or or people that have spoken at other meetings, but a lot of parents have no clue. They have no clue what's going on.
083They don't even know what's at stake. And that makes me really nervous because those are taxpayers, right? Those are parents. And and I just I I that's why I spoke today. I didn't want to because I didn't want to speak in public, but I did today because I was like, every person I talked to seriously just looked at me and they're like, "Huh?" And these were people walking their kids to school, the whole issue that we're talking about. So, it's kind of like, and that's why I just if you leave from any of this speech, just know I I don't think the message is getting to the broader public about just what's at stake, you know, good or bad. I I encourage there to be more signage. I encourage there to be an iPad, someone
084taking surveys, maybe not an iPad, but on a a piece of paper somewhere standing in front of the schools each morning asking parents what they prefer and because I think we'd get a lot more Yeah. want to keep walking my kids to school. So, thank you. Thank you. And our last speaker is JP Gray. Good evening. My name is JP Grrey. I'm a Lakewood resident and I work as a community engagement professional. Last week, my wife eloquently spoke about the incredible value that our local schools provide to our community uh and our families from her perspective as an educator and school psychologist uh and also what our what our community schools means for my family with two future rangers. Today, I'm here because of this community. As we see today and as we saw last
085week, our community is passionate about our support for our schools. We know that our walkable schools are one of the main things that attracts families to Lakewood. In fact, right before this meeting, I met a family with a kindergartener who were in Lakewood looking at houses and they asked me about the walkable schools concerned that one might close. I am not I'm not making this up. This happened right before I came here. The evidence is clear. Our walkable schools attract families to Lakewood. During last week's school board meeting, Mrs. Clark Sutton asked for patience from us, from the community as the administration and school board make this really big decision for our community. I think most of us Lakewood families understand and support taking time with big decisions. But as a community engagement professional, we
086have an adage. nothing about us without us. Yes, this is a big decision and that deserves the utmost care and consideration and this decision deserves robust and inclusive community engagement that allows all Lakewood families to give input into this major decision. Please don't make this decision for us. Make it with us. I don't know much about the underlying factors influencing this decision. I wish I knew more. But I do know that when a community is forced and faced with external threats as we are today, and there are many, our leaders can choose to take one of two paths. Our leaders can choose to make decisions behind closed doors and then defend those decisions to the community after the fact. or our leaders can choose to be courageous and trust in the strength of our community.
087I urge you to do the latter. Don't make a decision about this important issue without slowing down and taking the time to engage in a robust and inclusive community engagement process. This decision is too important to our community and to our children and to our families. trust and believe in this community and we will continue to support our schools with the same passion through all of the challenges we will face in the years to come. Thank you. Thank you. Put a question mark. Thank you to all of our speakers. We're going to move on in our agenda. um to the consent agenda part of our meeting. And so I would like to uh a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion to approve consent agenda. Second. Um Mr. Zean, can you call the role? Mrs.
088Kber, I. Mr. Shaughnessy, I. Miss Clark Sutton, I. Mr. Callahan, I stop. Hi. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have the human resources report with Mrs. Shaughnessy. Thank you. Um we have five re resolutions. The first is for certified employees. There are total of 60 actions. Can I combine these Mr. Zean? Yes. Okay. Uh the second are certified non-employee coaches and advisors. Total of seven actions all appointments. Third item is classified um actions 11 total actions appointments special compensation and salary and pay rate adjustments. Fourth is classified non-emp employee coaches and advisors. A total of 15 actions. All 15 are appointments. And total of 57 actions for community recreation education, aquatics 52, athletics for and field maintenance one as we approach summer. And I move adoption of the resolution. Second. The uh it has been
089moved and seconded. All in favor? I I great. We'll move on to other board business. And Mi, Mrs. Jaughy, thank you. Um this is an action. I'm trying to see this is on uh approval on one reading is the request um certified personnel actions and I move adoption of the resolution. Second. It's been moved and seconded for um one reading. Mr. Zean, can you call the role? Mr. Cassburgger. Hi. Miss Shaughnessy. Hi. Miss Clark Sutton. Hi. Mr. Callahan. Hi. Miss D. Hi. Thank you. Thank you. Uh next we have Miss D. Okay. This is um being requested for approval on one reading for fiscal year 26 and 27. The county educational service agreement for city exempted village and local school districts OC 3313.843. Um, each school district is required to enter into a primary county
090agreement to provide necessary educational services over two school years. This agreement for the school years 2526 and 2627 will allow Lakewood City Schools to receive supervisory services from the Northeast Ohio ESCF teaching staff inservice training, research and development programs, curriculum services, and assistance in the provision of special accommodations and classes for students with disabilities. The service cost is a deduction from our state foundation payment in the amount of $6.50 per student plus any additional contracted services. Um and I move to approve second. Um it's been moved and seconded for uh approval on one reading. Mr. Ziming, can you call the role? Mrs. Katzburgger. Hi. Miss Shaughnessy. Hi. Miss Clark Sutton. I. Mr. Callahan. Hi. Miss Scott. Hi. And that concludes the business of the meeting. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? I move we
091adjourn. Second. All in favor? I. Thank you. This meeting is adjourned.