LO 21_01 On The Streets - We Look Back, Then Look Farther Back
Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2025 11:24 am
In the first issue of 2025, the Lakewood Observer looks back on Lakewood’s history, including a history of screwy deals and committees.
We begin with the winners of the 2024 Holiday Decoration contest. The home at 1522 Coutant won. One of Lakewood’s small yard decorating projects that literally went over the top! This house always looks great for the holidays, underlining the fact that you do not need a big yard to make a big impact.
1522 Coutant, top prize of over $100.00 in gifts.
2nd place, 1305 Matthews, winner of over $60.00 in gifts.
The second thing we look back on is last year and the news that affected us in Lakewood. Everything from the eclipse to retirements.
Another thing we look at is much more troubling: the problems and issues with Lakewood Public Schools. Specifically the fact that the very people who rallied to ask for over $250 million to build new schools now claim they overbuilt by 2 or 3 schools. It underlines many of the troubling aspects of not just the 50-year-committee but all phases of the school rebuilding process. The Lakewood BOE and its committees have a long proven inability to be honest and forthcoming with the residents of Lakewood—the very same residents who listened to their often twisted logic to approve $250 million in buildings for our kids.
They're trying to blame the need for closures on a declining birth rate when they are basing their conclusions on enrollment data from 2022-- as our front page article states, "many families had pulled out to home-school or make other plans due to COVID. Since then, enrollment appears to be flattening per the data shown; however the district is moving forward full steam without having new data analysis in place. This is too important of an issue to be glossing through with incomplete data on enrollment (while stating that enrollment decline is driving this entire repurposing study). With the task force being made up of a large number of district staff, does it truly represent the diverse needs of Lakewood’s families and taxpayers?" This is occurring while most charter and private schools in the area are filled to capacity and have multi-year waiting lists. In the past, the 50-year-committee focused more on closing schools to aid city development than promoting the education of our children. They worked overtime with lies and mistruths to close Grant School so that the “thinkers” who sold off our hospital for $1, could have access to that land to develop it. We all know how that went.
Even more troubling is that many of the same players who told us we needed the new schools are on the committee or helping to run it from behind the scenes.
You can pick up a copy of the printed version of the Observer at over 100 locations around town.
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Download the digital version here:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.lakewood ... sue_01.pdf