Then Lakewood Board of Education President in 2005, Ed Favre commences ground breaking.
Master Facility Plan Announced: Lakewood Will Have Seven Elementary Schools And A Finished High School
The signs were up at schools all over town at the end of last week: “Community Meeting, Grant School, Tuesday Night.” Robo-calls went out: Superintendent Patterson was inviting us to a brief but important meeting at Grant Elementary School. The purpose? An update on the District’s School Construction project, to bring the community up to speed on the latest development in the Master Facilities Plan.
For those of us with kids in the school system, this was a big meeting. Lakewood High School parents wondered when the high school building would be completed, along with Middle School parents whose children will be on their way to high school soon.
Elementary school parents who have been trying to figure out the best elementary school for their children, given the fact that a 2009 decision put Lakewood as a six-school District, wondered whether the time had come for one of our schools to close.
This decision had been updated as our enrollment increased. A June 2012 decision to announce an elementary school closure the following Fall was suspended as the enrollment figures made clear that all seven of our elementary schools were pretty full.
But we all awaited the Ohio Facilities Construction Committee’s (formerly the Ohio School Facilities Commission) final study of Lakewood’s population and its school buildings.
As people filed in, the buzz filled the room. Had Grant School been chosen as the location for this important meeting to honor it for its service, as its closure became final? Or had it been chosen to celebrate the fact that it was going to stay in service as a school? And, had the time come to finally FINISH Lakewood High School?
The room became silent as Superintendent Patterson took the podium. Since becoming Lakewood City Schools’ Superintendent, Mr. Patterson has been very forthcoming with the citizens of Lakewood, conducting meeting after meeting to engage with the community, and to understand what we value. He has been very thorough when describing the ins and outs, dollars and cents, of the Administration’s decisions affecting our children.
Tuesday night was no different. Mr. Patterson opened his speech reminding us of the community input given in over 30 meetings which made a 4 million dollar reduction in future expenditures possible along with the recent passage of a 3.9 mil operating levy by a majority of nearly 69%.
He then turned to the matter at hand: Our school system will soon have “a tremendous opportunity to complete our Master Facility Plan…” he said. He quoted Winston Churchill saying, “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.” He explained how important our school buildings are to Lakewood’s future: “The design decisions we make today,” he said, “will help or haunt the educational process in Lakewood for the next 50 to 75 years. We must do so much more than cobble together rectangular classrooms in an efficient configuration. We must do our best to envision the needs of the future and ensure that our new facilities complement the efforts of the students and staff housed in them. I am convinced we can accomplish this challenge by working together.”
And then the big news was upon us. Superintendent Patterson explained that in mid-July the OFCC would in all probability declare our district eligible to receive $47 million to complete our Master Plan. in order to qualify for state funds the board will act upon the revised Master Facility Plan on June 3rd.
And finally, Mr. Patterson described what the June 3rd resolution would say: “I am excited to report that the resolution will provide for rebuilding ALL THREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (Roosevelt, Grant and Lincoln) as well as completing the eastern end of Lakewood High School.”
The room erupted in applause.
How did this happen?
Patterson described how, working with OFCC, the Administration went after enrollment numbers and projections in several different ways, and stood their ground regarding their faith in Lakewood’s future, and its need for walkable schools. Currently, two independent sets of ten-year enrollment projections show that Lakewood is expected to grow an average of 35.8 students a year, each year, for ten years, for a total increase of 358 students. With those figures in hand, decisions could be made.
Mr. Patterson went on-- proving how well he understands Lakewood-- by describing how pleased he is that this plan will allow us to preserve what he described as our “treasured Lakewood tradition” of providing neighborhood schools.
The next task we must accomplish together is passing a bond to fund our portion of the project, he said. He expressed his appreciation for the knowledge, experience and collective wisdom brought to this process by the community, saying in conclusion, “Together we will complete the final phase of the Facility Master Plan.”
Board President Edward Favre then complimented Mr. Patterson and his administrative team for their continuing hard work and diligence in preparing for the OFCC's decision process.
As attendees took in the news, and prepared to ask questions (Superintendent Patterson is a big fan of feedback) the buzz in the room echoed his words. “This is great news for our school district, as more and more people are seeing Lakewood as a destination rather than a stepping stone. People are realizing what we have known for a long time. Lakewood is a great place to raise a family.”
More photos and info here:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2013/05/28/master-facility-plan-announced-lakewood-will-have-seven-elementary-schools
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