Lakewood’s move from Hebron Elementary is taking shape
HEBRON – Modular classrooms, currently sitting in the Lakewood High School parking lot, are providing a glimpse of the near future for the district, as it shuts down 109-year-old Hebron Elementary and moves students to the Jackson Intermediate site for next school year.
Starting with 2023-24, Hebron’s preschool, K-2 students and staff will be shifted to Jackson B and the modular structures, which will be connected to that building. The “new” school will be named Lakewood Elementary, and the Hebron building will be vacated at the end of this school year.
“The contractor is doing foundation work on the modulars, and when that is finished, they will be moved behind Jackson B, hopefully by the end of May,” superintendent Dr. Mark Gleichauf said last week. “The pieces will be put together, and there are eight classrooms, a boys’ restroom, a girls’ restroom, a staff restroom, a utility closet and a technology closet off a 10-foot-wide hallway. A corridor will be built between them and the building.”
Second graders will be in the modular classrooms, with pre-school and grades K-1 at Jackson B. Grades 3-5 are at Jackson A.
Gleichauf said remodeling of Jackson B has started, with internal work including painting, cleaning and putting up dividers.
“This move out of the Hebron Elementary
building to the Jackson site and Lancer Road campus is the best option for our K-2 students and staff at this time,” Lakewood school board president Brittany Misner said in a press release. “Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to pass a bond issue for a new elementary school several times. The community support has just not been enough to be successful. We believe that this transition will have multiple benefits, from climate-controlled classrooms to better integration among the different schools that make up our wonderful district.”
“We are very excited to have all Lakewood students together on our Lancer Road campus in buildings that are more accessible, have effective heating and cooling, and have improved instructional space,” Gleichauf added in the press release. “Although the ultimate goal is a new pre-school-fifth grade elementary school for our community, this provides the best possible alternative until we can pass a bond issue for that school.”
Gleichauf came up with the plan in October of 2021 to vacate Hebron, and it was board approved in November that year. The building has served Lakewood Local Schools in a variety of ways, including as the high school at one time.
Hebron, which is non-ada accessible, is a mixture of unwanted moisture, a labyrinth of hallways and stairs, cramped quarters and soaring temperatures. The classrooms are small, and teachers have creatively made use of the space. The cramped cafeteria presents its own set of problems, as does the kitchen. The school, built in 1914, has had water pour into the gymnasium, and the gym roof has been replaced six times. A ruptured water line also had to be replaced.
“That was the most affordable option, and it’s temporary,” Gleichauf said in October of 2021. “In fiscal year 2019, Hebron had $96,727 in extra expenditures, and it was $75,611 in 2020. It has major heating and cooling issues.”
The bond issue for a new elementary has failed five times, the latest being in the spring of 2021. The district has continued to scale it down, eliminating plans for school improvements and focusing solely on building a new school.
The latest issue to fail was for $31.3 million, which would have covered 28 years, for 2.65 mills at 2.25% interest. District treasurer Ginna Plaisted said it would cost $92.70 per year for a $100,000 home, or $7.72 a month. The issue that was voted down in 2020 was for 3.8 mills and 4% interest. It would have cost residents $11.08 per month for a $100,000 home, or $133 per year.
The goal remains to eventually have a new pre-school-grade 5 elementary school. Jackson A, built in 1968, and Jackson B (1972) have their own set of problems.
Gleichauf said he has not yet discussed a new bond issue with the board.
“We hope to be able to pass one in the future, but hope is not a strategy,” he said. “Right now, we have a 109-year-old building that we can no longer be in, and we have to do what is best for our students.” dweidig@gannett.com 740-704-7973
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