Resident urges Lakewood board to keep all seven neighborhood elementary schools

Bonnie Sykes, a lifelong Lakewood resident, told the Lakewood City School District board during public comment on May 20 that the community should retain all seven neighborhood elementary schools.

Sykes said she and others have attended recent board meetings at Grant, Roosevelt and Lincoln and described the last three meetings as “packed.” She said attendees had urged the board to keep seven schools open and criticized reasons the board had previously listed for closing schools—“lack of collaboration among teachers, reluctant to move teachers around, and uneven class sizes”—as inadequate justification. Sykes said an attorney at a prior meeting had described school closure as an “existential community change, requiring a burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a point she said she agreed with.

Board members responded during board comments that any conversations about repurposing buildings or changing boundaries are “not done lightly.” President Katzenberger and other board members said representing the community and stewardship of school resources is an important part of the board’s work; one member asked the public to follow developments in the state biennial budget, which board staff had summarized in a recent district publication.

No formal motion or vote on school closure or boundary changes occurred at the meeting. Board members encouraged public review of district materials and continued participation in the process. Sykes also offered praise for the district’s participation in a voucher lawsuit; the board did not take action on that remark at the meeting.