The Observation Deck

So with the state backing off on funding, I can see where the city will be forced to close one or more of the schools.

So Grant?

Lincoln?

I would think the Grant property is worth the most, but Lincoln serves a smaller group of homes.

Thoughts?



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Jim O'Bryan wrote:So with the state backing off on funding,
Thoughts?



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While the revised state aid figure is actually higher than the original 2004 plan, increased construction costs mean the new figure will not cover all three schools.

See Bill's link

Talk about the horns of a dilemma!

I guess if you look at closing Lincoln, it is fairly easy to see it's population divided between two brand new elementary schools....Emerson and Horace Mann.

I'm not at all sure how the same issue would be addressed in closing Grant....Divide up between Hayes, Roosevelt?

Clearly the Grant real estate, coupled with the Board property could serve as the footprint for some significant development, especially if you couple that with Marc's plaza.

Jeff

You left out a school, Roosevelt.
To me it would be the most likely because Hayes and Harrison flank it. Plus it wasnt ever clear whether the inteniton was to renovate it or build new.

Two other things. The state money isn't a 'loan' its a grant, we dont have to pay it back. Also the state cant tell a city which schools to close it can only say these are the schools we will give you money for Lakewood can have 50 elementary schools if it wants but the state will only pay build or remodel 6.

Dee Martinez wrote:You left out a school, Roosevelt.
To me it would be the most likely because Hayes and Harrison flank it. Plus it wasnt ever clear whether the inteniton was to renovate it or build new.

Two other things. The state money isn't a 'loan' its a grant, we dont have to pay it back. Also the state cant tell a city which schools to close it can only say these are the schools we will give you money for Lakewood can have 50 elementary schools if it wants but the state will only pay build or remodel 6.

I used the term loan with quotes around it but I know it is not a loan. If the state is giving me 70 cents on the dollar to refurbish my schools, they do have a say in how the money is spent, good or bad. And they do tell you how they are willing to spend the money based on their recommendations, so essentially they are telling you what to do if you want their money.

To add my 2 cents:

What you're missing in this discussion is the age of the facilities in question (Grant was built in the late '60s; my grandfather went to Lincoln, class of '25), and more importantly, the fact that Lakewood is a walking district. At the very least, when planning for closings/renovations/new construction, one must put themselves in the shoes of the parent of a 5-year-old who might be walking to school unsupervised. Most adults make the mistake of lumping the kindergardeners in with the high school kids when the discussion turns to ease-of-access and school proximity.
The current seven-elementary plan of the Board created an sideways-H re-districting of elementaries in Lakewood, with Grant in the middle. Whether the Board would like to finally move-out of the Warren Rd. bldg. might also have some impact on their decision. Next to Lincoln, the admin bldg. is the oldest in the district.

Keep them both open.

Closing elementary schools in response to enrollment declines can increase enrollment declines.

Have the schools share administrative staff. Have the school board employees use available space as office space.

Ok I will try not to get too emotional about this, but it is very hard for me. I have seen what the parents of kids from Madison went through (two of my kids went there for a year). I saw what the parents of Franklin went through. And now a few days before school gets out I learn about this. Next year is my sons last year at Grant. I hope that the district will at least give us a year rather than just leaving Grant for the summer and not coming back. Now onto the other stuff. Despite popular opinion splitting Grants large population would not be easy. Yes we are centrally locates but we are the only school that it. We serve a very large percentage of poorer kids, many of whom are served by title 1 programs, of which Lincoln does not qualify for Title ! services. Another problem with a school serving a large population of poorer students is the fact that a very large part of the student body does not have any form of transportation to school. Kids walk at Grant. Also because of the fact that for many students another elementary school would not be close and it would require some student to not only cross major streets but also railroad tracks to get to another building pretty far away. Plus I can't see how the other buildings could feasible handle the influx of students from a large school without overcrowding them. Sure some streets could go to Mckinley and some could go to Hayes and some could go to Roosevelt, but many would have to go to Lincoln and they are in the same boat as Grant, overcrowded. I suppose the lines for all schools could be redrawn again but I imagine that would also create a lot of division especially since it would mean for the first time in all of this that Lincoln would be forced to take part in the changes that they have not had to deal with while other areas have had to deal with transition after transition. Grant has seem an influx of students and honestly sometimes it has seemed like we have been a dumping ground. Which honestly hasn't bothered me. The modulars in the parking lot have been fine. The fact that the size of the school has doubled has been fine. The fact that we now house the special education programs has been wonderful. I just hope whatever decision is made that the school that will be closed is able to remain open for one last year. I am certain the decision has already been made, my trust in this board is very minimal. I just really think it is the right thing to do to give the school, mostly likely Grant as we have seen this coming for the last few years, one more year to close. I love Lakewood and I love the education my children receive here, but some of the changes that have been made have been painful and I hope the district can do the right thing and minimize the pain by not just closing a school and giving those students and staff members the opportunity to make their last year a special one.

Oh I forgot to say that while the property of Grant may be worth more, really is anybody looking to build right now. I see a lot of vacant land space and I see projects left uncompleted. Also if I am correct I believe that the architect said that Lincoln would be the most expensive school to renovate because the state has very specific things that must be included in the renovated building. I also know for a fact that parking is a nightmare there, we don't have the same problems at Grant. We have a large area surrounding the building. I know that none of this matters, Grant has been on the chopping block for years and it insults me and others that they couldn't be straightforward with us. Oh as a disclaimer when I say us I mean my friends and I, I can't speak for others at the school.

Danielle Masters wrote:Oh I forgot to say that while the property of Grant may be worth more, really is anybody looking to build right now.

Both schools should remain open.

Closing Grant because of some pie in the sky development idea is pie in the sky.

20 years ago the Lakewood Center (aka marcs plaza) was promised to include the space occupied by Grant, the school board buildings and twenty or thirty two family homes. The drawings were magnificent. After the City gave up its parking lot and fire station what was built is what you see.

Lincoln and Grant should remain open, don't exchange school property for pie in the sky pie crust promises and don't fund another round of raises by short changing the children!

Absolutely no decision has been made by the Board to date. We are at the very beginning of what will be a very transparent discussion.

The most recent report from the State was first discussed by the Board at the June 2, 2008 board meeting. At the June 9, 2008 Committee of the Whole meeting, the Board will discuss the report further. And there will be more meetings.

The agenda for the June 9, 2008 Committee of the Whole meeting is as follows:

• I. Call to Order – Roll Call
  
  II. Board Discussion Items.
  
  • A. Discussion of Other Board Business: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., Harding LRC
    B. Discussion of OSFC Report: 5:30 – 6:45 p.m., Harding Cafetorium
    C. Discussion of Five-Year Financial Forecast: 5:30 – 6:45 p.m., Harding Cafetorium
  III. Adjournment

The meeting will be held at Harding Middle School.

Tonight I was able to attend the Committee of the whole meeting. I have to say I was fairly pleased with the information that was presented regarding the report from the OSFC. The recommendation from the state was to rebuild both Roosevelt and Lincoln and demolish Grant, but the board members were very clear to state that that was only a recommendation and that no decision has been made. When questioned about the reasoning behind the state recommendation it was state that they said three school south, three school north get rid of the one in the middle. But once again that recommendation really means nothing. There was a lot of information shared, way too much to go into here. But it was made clear that no school will close next year and that before any decision is made there will be plenty of community input. One thing though the board does have to sign off on the states recommendation because they need it for financial reasons. Matt can probably explain that better than me, nut just because they agreed to the states recommendation that is no where near final. So in the end I am glad I attended the meeting. Mr. Berdine and the board were very open and explained the whole process very clearly and I think them for that. I walked out of the meeting tonight feeling that they are going to be transparent throughout this process and as a parent and a community member I appreciate that.

Great summary, Danielle! And thank you for coming to our meeting last night.

As Danielle said, the Board and Administration will be very transparent throughout this lengthy process. Our meeting last night was simply the “helloâ€￾ in the conversation.

If any Observer is interested in participating in the process (which is yet to be determined), please send me an e-mail so that I can forward your name to the Administration.

The Administration has set up the following process for signing up to participate in the upcoming discussion regarding this topic:

[T]he volunteer can contact us directly by using any of the following methods:

• 1. through the website using the asklakewoodschools@lakewood.k12.oh.us
  
  2. e mailing us at:
  • rosemary.wagoner@lakewood.k12.oh.us
    heather.burdette@lakewood.k12.oh.us
    david.estrop@lakewood.k12.oh.us
  3. calling us at 216-529-4000

What we will need is the following information:

• Name
  Address (where they want to receive mail from us)
  Phone number they would like us to use
  E mail address (if they have such)

Thanks for posting this information here. I was unable to attend Monday's meeting but I really wanted to know what is going on and I haven't seen much yet. It is nice to know that this isn't going to be an over the summer decision. I am a parent that has had children transition multiple times (one with four schools in 4 years!) and I can tell you it is tough when your home school closes but the new buildings are wonderful and when they get those elementary schools stable it will be a good thing for this community.