16. RESOLUTION 2026-16 - A RESOLUTION endorsing Issue 2, the new 6.9 mill tax levy proposed by Lakewood City School District to maintain the District's existing standards of excellence in programming, teaching, technology, and security.
Why is city council taking a position now on the levy? It refused to make a comment when the board of education was looking to repurpose one of the schools. The city has REFUSED to work with the schools to take over the recreation department and help restructure the expenses, thus saving the district close to $1 million annually. The city has acted irresponsibly over the last several years to protect the community from the continued decline in population and public school enrollment by not actively working with Lakewood City Schools. This resolution is a farce as the district itself is unable to manage its own finances and given away a decade's worth of tax abatements.
City council's support of this levy is just another proponent of allowing the district to make the same poor financial decisions at the hands of taxpayers. You cannot keep spending money if you never slash expenses somewhere. Lakewood has the second highest operating expenses per student in the state - this needs to be addressed now and cannot be left to continue.
Why is city council taking a position now on the levy? It refused to make a comment when the board of education was looking to repurpose one of the schools. The city has REFUSED to work with the schools to take over the recreation department and help restructure the expenses, thus saving the district close to $1 million annually. The city has acted irresponsibly over the last several years to protect the community from the continued decline in population and public school enrollment by not actively working with Lakewood City Schools. This resolution is a farce as the district itself is unable to manage its own finances and given away a decade's worth of tax abatements.
City council's support of this levy is just another proponent of allowing the district to make the same poor financial decisions at the hands of taxpayers. You cannot keep spending money if you never slash expenses somewhere. Lakewood has the second highest operating expenses per student in the state - this needs to be addressed now and cannot be left to continue.