News of the Proposed Lakewood School Levy

[Mark Kindt]

I was surprised to learn that a school levy is being proposed by the Lakewood Board of Education as recently reported in the Observer.

As one of the many homeowners in Lakewood who saw their property taxes increase by about 50% recently, I am wondering where that increase is going, if not to the Lakewood School System.

It seems to me that the district should be swimming in funds just from the massive tax increases that started in 2024 and that now continue to press residents' pocketbooks.

It seems contradictory that the District plans to close one or more schools, is the beneficiary of a tax increase, and now seeks an increase in already highly inflated property taxes.

What am I missing?

[Mark Kindt]

Friends of Lakewood Schools, an Ohio nonprofit formed to support and advocate for the long-term success of the Lakewood City School District on October 24, 2025, filed an injunction to halt and overturn the unlawful and irresponsible actions taken by the Lakewood City School District’s Board of Education on October 20, 2025, to close Lincoln Elementary School and remove Pre-K programs from each neighborhood elementary school to a single location.

The suit alleges that the School Board violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act by holding illegal closed-door discussions that led to the abrupt decision to close Lincoln Elementary School. Friends of Lakewood Schools says the decision to close a recently built neighborhood school was rushed, lacked financial or strategic planning, and ignored nearly a year of broad public opposition.

[Mark Kindt]

You know -- complying with Ohio law is not rocket science!

A free guide to compliance with public meeting transparency for public officials is posted on the Ohio Attorney General's website.

I've been writing here about government transparency for a decade now. Yet, complying with Ohio law still seems a bit of a reach for Lakewood.

[Mark Kindt]

Simply put --

"Poor compliance with statutory transparency always equals poor public policy outcomes."