Residents Want Seven Neighborhood Elementary Schools -Why Doesn’t The School Board?

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Over the last 8 months, Lakewood’s school board has been considering whether or not to close one or even two of our neighborhood elementary schools - some of our community’s most precious assets. We at Preserve Lakewood Schools remain very concerned about the lack of consideration for Lakewood’s broader community’s input in this conversation.

In November '13, an overwhelming majority of Lakewood voters approved a bond issue to fund the rebuilding of the same 3 schools that the board may now vote to close. It will take Lakewood taxpayers until 2043 to repay the nearly $43 million left on that bond.  

Yet, the district has presented the community, in the form of the invitation-only Task Force which meets behind closed doors, with information that a drastic change has to be made - closing one or even two of our neighborhood elementary schools. They have provided little data or reasoning to justify making this drastic change.

Unfortunately, the district began this process using and sharing outdated enrollment projections that were from '22, and shared that outdated information with the task force at its early meetings, as well as with the public at the community meetings held in Fall '24.  

Since then, the district completed an updated enrollment study, which was released in February '25.

The district now projects that Lakewood will only lose 66 K-5 students over the next 10 years - that’s only 9 fewer students per elementary school. The district’s own projections show a steady elementary population moving forward over the next 10 years. This could easily be recouped with renewed marketing efforts.

In a March 11, 2025 letter to the House Finance Committee regarding House Bill 96, Lakewood Schools CFO Kent Zeman wrote, “Lakewood CSD is a guarantee district with stable enrollment. Our enrollment over the last four years has remained constant at 4,200 students.”

The district held a series of open community meetings in Fall '24, at each of Lakewood’s seven elementary schools. The meetings weren’t recorded, no staff members were taking notes, and attendees’ frustrations mounted, as district officials provided few answers aside from the prepared powerpoint presentation.

In January, the district conducted an online community survey, receiving over 2,100 responses. Their own survey results showed that Lakewood’s residents want to prioritize safety and walkability at neighborhood schools.  

Earlier this year, the district promised that the community would be invited to participate in an additional community meeting in April. At time of writing, they have yet to invite the public to provide any additional input. 

The district’s stated goal - to equalize class sizes across elementary buildings - can easily be achieved by redrawing the boundary lines for the schools. With this simple solution - which has been on the table from the beginning - why would they still be considering closing a school?

The district has repeatedly said that the reasons for closing elementary schools are not financial. According to their numbers, closing an elementary school would save only $500,000 per year - less than 1% of the their nearly $100 million yearly budget.

Why would the school board vote to close schools this year, when they plan to ask voters to approve a new levy in 2026?

The district's idea of closing an elementary school and moving all of Lakewood’s Pre-K offerings into a single, centralized building is not a change that Lakewood residents asked for. No quantifiable data has been provided to show that there's an increased need for centralized services in our community. In fact, Lakewood is home to a thriving ecosystem of preschool programs conveniently located in neighborhoods all around the city.

Lakewood’s board and district leadership have a responsibility to effectively manage the school system in a way that reflects what Lakewood’s community - and Lakewood’s voters - truly value and need. They have a responsibility to do that in a manner that is open and transparent - not behind closed doors.  

With good management, we can preserve Lakewood’s neighborhood schools and safeguard them for the future. It’s time for Lakewod’s school board to listen to the community’s voices in a meaningful way. We urge the board to keep our neighborhood elementary schools as Pre-K to 5 buildings, and to simply redraw the boundary lines for our elementary schools.

Preserve Lakewood Schools is a growing coalition of parents, residents, business owners, and leaders committed to preventing the closure and repurposing of elementary schools by Lakewood City Schools, and supporting the long-term vitality of Lakewood’s public schools. Learn more at https://www.preservelakewoodschools.org/.

Jennifer Schlosser is a Lakewood resident, business owner, and parent of two.