The Observation Deck

[i]District forum on last phase of plan[/i], David George, Lakewood Sun Post (April 2, 2009) wrote:Lakewood school officials are hoping for a packed house at Lakewood High School tonight, as they begin public discussions about the final phase of the district's facilities plan.

Among the issues are the passage of a third building bond issue, the securing of state funds, completion of renovations at LHS, and perhaps most important, whether to close an additional elementary school.

The public forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the school's east gym.

"This is the last time the community will be doing this sort of thing for the next 50 years or so," school board president Ed Favre said Tuesday. "There are some very important decisions to be made here."

In the coming year, the schools will need to ask residents to approve a bond issue to complete the final phase of the district's $168 million facilities project. While the local issue is expected to be small, approval is needed for Lakewood to receive about $42 million in state matching funds.And there is another consideration. Lakewood has three elementary schools -- Lincoln, Grant and Roosevelt -- which are candidates for remodeling or replacement.. But the state will provide funding for only two.

"If we want to keep all three, we have to foot the bill on the third one ourselves," Favre said. "It will be 100 percent Lakewood money."

Lincoln is the largest of Lakewood's original elementary schools, and Grant is the newest, erected in 1969. School officials have steadfastly maintained that no decisions have been made to close which, if any, of the schools.

"I don't have any preconceived notions about what I'm hoping to hear," board member Matthew Markling said Tuesday. Nor did he set a timeline for a final decision. "I want to get the report when the committee is ready to give its report," he said. "I don't want to make a rush to judgment."

P. Joseph Madak, who was recently appointed to succeed David Estrop as Lakewood superintendent, will participate in tonight's forum, according to Favre. That will add an element of familiarity, as it was during Madak's initial tenure as superintendent that Lakewood began its public discussions about the facilities program.

The project, launched in 2001 and first approved by voters the following year, involved the construction of four new school buildings, the conversion of Emerson and Horace Mann middle schools to elementary facilities, and a two-phase makeover of LHS. The first part of the LHS project is still in progress and is due to be completed by the start of the 2009-2010 school year.

But plans for the second phase of the LHS remodeling -- which will involve the older, east wing of the school, are still on the table, according to Favre, which is another area for public discussion. "There is nothing set or cast in stone there," he said.

The board president also said he hoped residents maintained a level of enthusiasm for the project, the first major facilities program involving Lakewood schools in more than 80 years. "I hope folks are still excited about it," Favre said.