Copyright cleveland.com
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- In the same week the Lakewood City Schools Board of Education approved the repurposing of Lincoln Elementary School, community group Friends of Lakewood Schools filed an injunction to halt and overturn the decision. The Ohio nonprofit is suing for illegal closed-door meetings and irresponsible school closure. “This case is about transparency and accountability,” said Friends of Lakewood Schools board member Jeff McCourt in a press release. “Without engaging in any strategic planning process for the future of the district, without reviewing any meaningful financial information, the Lakewood School Board voted to kick off a series of massive facilities and programmatic changes that will have significant and harmful consequences for our schools, children, community and taxpayers. “Lakewood families deserve leaders who make thoughtful, open and well-informed decisions about our children’s schools. School boards normally use at least basic financial information and enact strategic plans to guide momentous decisions like closing a school or launching new capital projects or programs. The Lakewood School Board has behaved erratically, ignoring those basic responsible practices to push through this decision.” 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 also suggest 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. More than a year ago, the district convened a 50-member community task force, which was charged with studying the future of the district’s seven elementary schools. The entire ordeal is tied to what the district says is a decade-long trend of declining enrollment, with roughly 1,600 fewer students in the district and its seven elementary schools at 66% capacity for K-5 students. The Board of Education’s approval was tied to Lakewood City Schools Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki’s Oct. 6 recommendation to repurpose Lincoln Elementary School and relocate the district’s special education and specialized programming. Effective for the 2027-2028 school year, the CHAMPS program will move from the basement of Horace Mann Elementary School to the first floor of Hayes Elementary School, the RISE classroom from Emerson Elementary School into the former CHAMPS space at Horace Mann Elementary School and the self-contained gifted program from Grant Elementary School to Hayes Elementary School. Also, the Early Learning Center will provide before and after-school care, as well as summer daycare options. Regarding the lawsuit, Niedzwiecki said. “I am aware of a complaint being filed but the board has not yet been served with it, so I am unable to comment at this time.”
