Lakewood Board Of Education Moves Into Taft Building

LAKEWOOD, OH — The Lakewood Board of Education is now housed in the Taft Center for Innovation. The board was previously housed on Warren Road.

The Taft Center was previously Taft Elementary School. The building stopped serving as a school in 2009 and then underwent a series of renovations. Taft is now the district's home for the Board of Education and will eventually house Lakewood's new, all-day preschool program.

The preschool program will begin in August 2020.

The redevelopment of Taft Elementary was announced in December 2018. Taft Elementary was originally built in 1927, making it more than 90-years-old. Additions were built in 1957 and 1970, but upgrades were needed for the building to house the Board of Education and the preschool program.

"This move will allow us to maximize a taxpayer-funded property that has been underutilized over the years since it closed as an elementary school while giving us the space needed to expand critical programming for our students and keep our Central Office staff in Board-owned property," said Superintendent Michael J. Barnes in a statement released when the upgrades were announced.

The district's Warren Road properties were sold to Liberty Development Company in 2019.