Lakewood Superintendent Recommends Sale of the Board's Administrative Offices

LAKEWOOD, OH - Superintendent Jeff Patterson recommended the sale of the Board of Education's offices at 1470 Warren Rd. at a joint city council and board of education meeting on Sept. 26.

Patterson also suggested that should the sale go through, the administrative staff should be moved to the former Taft Elementary building. That would then cause Lakewood City Academy to move from Taft to the former Franklin Elementary building.

The board of education will likely consider the recommendation at its Oct. 3 and Oct. 17 meetings.

Franklin Elementary served as a temporary house to students from Roosevelt Elementary, while that school underwent construction. The construction of three new elementary school buildings was part of the final $100 million phase of the district’s Facilities Master Plan project, which will be complete when the high school finishes work on its east wing and re-opens in Aug. 2017.

The first step in selling the board's property would be to adopt a resolution placing the property for sale. Then a notification is sent to the Ohio Department of Education, which must then offer the building to any high-performing charter school in the state. If there are no buyers, then the property must be offered to any start-up charter school in the district, then to any government municipality or offer it at public auction. The entire process before a private sale may be made could take about six months.

Image via Rick Uldricks, Patch