Superintendent's Elem. Facilities Update
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Superintendent's Elem. Facilities Update
Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki shared a message today, Aug. 11, with families and staff members regarding next steps for the administration as it relates to a recommendation to address our elementary facility needs and a thank you to the dedicated Elementary Planning Task Force members. Please click on Read More to see the superintendent's message.
Dear Lakewood Families and Staff:
As I conveyed in my comments sent to you on August 5, 2025, I am currently working with my administrative team to evaluate the future of our elementary school buildings. Based on enrollment trends over the past 10 years and studies that we will be obtaining over the next few weeks, we will have the information necessary to recommend the best path forward to the Board of Education. We’re confident that the Board will have the tools it needs to make a decision about what is best for our students and school community, now and in the future.
It is important to take a moment and extend our appreciation to the devoted group of individuals who comprised the Elementary Planning Task Force (ETF) committee.
The dedicated citizens of the ETF committee collaborated over the past eight months to review data and discuss options, with the goal of making recommendations to me regarding the District’s enrollment decline and facility re-purposing. This group of approximately 50 individuals included parents, teachers, citizens, stakeholders, district leaders, and other engaged residents, representing a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds. They gave their time, energy, and expertise. While many of these individuals were already active in other areas of the Lakewood City Schools and community, they found time to become even more involved, and I thank them for that commitment and dedication to the betterment of our district.
Unfortunately, a small group of individuals has sent a demand letter and engaged in other legal-related maneuvers with respect to the work of the ETF committee. The Board has engaged legal counsel to defend it against these claims. Nonetheless, the circumstances at hand effectively have silenced the work of the task force and, ultimately, impeded my effort to use a task force to inform the Board of my recommendations to address the impact that the declined student enrollment has had on the school community.
Because the communications between Board legal counsel and this small group of individuals are ongoing, I have made the difficult decision to move forward with my and my administration's facility and enrollment analysis without the involvement of the ETF committee or the use of its analysis and findings. Nevertheless, as I stated last week, this is too important an issue to delay any further, and I am in the process of working with my administrative team to review enrollment trends and newly collected data to make a recommendation to the Board of Education for a clear and thoughtful path forward.
On behalf of the administrative team of the Lakewood City Schools, the Board of Education, and me, thank you to the Elementary Planning Task Force committee members. We will always be grateful to you for your dedication to our students and district."
Sincerely,
Maggie Niedzwiecki
Superintendent of Schools