On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

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Bill Call
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On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Bill Call » Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:31 am

The City of Lakewood recently transferred nearly $70 million to two private foundations. Perhaps some of that money could be used to help fund these programs.


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Jim O'Bryan
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:34 pm

Bill Call wrote:The City of Lakewood recently transferred nearly $70 million to two private foundations. Perhaps some of that money could be used to help fund these programs.



Bill

What is even more amazing is the names that show up on the 50-Year-Committee, The Closing of Lakewood Hospital, Build Lakewood, WestEnds Strip Mall, and the general gutting of Lakewood by a handful of people for their own personal gains. The list of the committees, who is on what, where and when is some crazy stuff.

We have been played. Yet again.

The city has got to stop voting for friends and start voting for competent leaders.

One small group has just run rampant through this nightmare, now zero in on the weakened Chamber of Commerce for next take over.

Fellow residents grab your ankles, here come our civic leaders again.

.


Jim O'Bryan
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"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

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If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
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Mark Kindt
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Mark Kindt » Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:05 am

After watching--and writing about--poor governmental and civic outcomes in Lakewood for the past decade (many tainted with questionable ethics or legality), I have to really question at a fundamental level the competence and the intentions of those involved.

Lakewood is now an "economic development" desert and appears to have been "redlined' by its own leadership since the days of former mayors Fitzgerald and Summers for their own purposes.

We all deserved better than what has been dished-out to us over the past 10 years.


Mark Kindt
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Mark Kindt » Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:41 am

And, then, when the Covid-19 Pandemic struck three years ago, we learned that Lakewood civic leadership had ensured that Lakewood would also be a "health-care" desert during times of crisis.


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Jim O'Bryan
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:31 am

Amy Martin wrote:and will continue when John Litten becomes the next mayor . . .


I doubt that John will run.

.

.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Richard Baker
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Richard Baker » Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:24 am

The loss of property taxes to the Lakewood School District [I believe it’s presently about 65 percent of your property tax bill] when the Hospital was closed by the Lakewood City Council has become insignificant. As does office and commercial building property devaluation due to vacancy due to the medical professionals moving out of the city. That aside, Lakewood School Board forgot their mission that funds are better spent on the education students including the arts and sports, instead they decided they were in the real-estate business. They built new school buildings for the comfort of their staff and teachers, and have eliminated many neighborhood schools.

Even with the recent large increases in property values that has more than made up the revenue lost in the hospital scam, the School Board decides it wants to cut music and of course the popular sports programs. Why, the Board is using the oldest flim-flam strategy in education, threaten to cut arts and sports so voters will allow them to raise their tax levy. They have little concern asking from more money on an overburden taxed home owner struggling with Biden's 7 percent inflation. Include energy, gasoline and food, the cost of water and sewers, the inflation rate is nearer to 12 percent.

What is needed is the replacement of half the school board members at the next elections with people that direct funds at the students not brick or mortar and salaries. A petition to change the city’s charter to rid the city of the at large council members. Establish four wards with two council representatives from each ward, and include the elimination of Council of the Whole meetings. I will require the various committee recommendations be debated in public at regular council meetings instead of a small back room.


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Jim O'Bryan
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:53 pm

Richard Baker wrote:The loss of property taxes to the Lakewood School District [I believe it’s presently about 65 percent of your property tax bill] when the Hospital was closed by the Lakewood City Council has become insignificant. As does office and commercial building property devaluation due to vacancy due to the medical professionals moving out of the city. That aside, Lakewood School Board forgot their mission that funds are better spent on the education students including the arts and sports, instead they decided they were in the real-estate business. They built new school buildings for the comfort of their staff and teachers, and have eliminated many neighborhood schools.

Even with the recent large increases in property values that has more than made up the revenue lost in the hospital scam, the School Board decides it wants to cut music and of course the popular sports programs. Why, the Board is using the oldest flim-flam strategy in education, threaten to cut arts and sports so voters will allow them to raise their tax levy. They have little concern asking from more money on an overburden taxed home owner struggling with Biden's 7 percent inflation. Include energy, gasoline and food, the cost of water and sewers, the inflation rate is nearer to 12 percent.

What is needed is the replacement of half the school board members at the next elections with people that direct funds at the students not brick or mortar and salaries. A petition to change the city’s charter to rid the city of the at large council members. Establish four wards with two council representatives from each ward, and include the elimination of Council of the Whole meetings. I will require the various committee recommendations be debated in public at regular council meetings instead of a small back room.


Richard, where to start....

BOE, yes, Lakewoodites need competency over friends.

Read the Lakewood Schools Mission Statement, I would love to hear your take on it.

Some of your ideas and concepts are off but generllay going in the right direction. The very real thing is according to a presentation I was at today. The 50-year-committe had the facts, but let egos and favorites get in the way. Of course this was witnessed and written about here in the Observer. We also got to witness firsthand how the 50-year-committee's 3 card monte is played. Lot's of smoke, lots of mirrors.

Right now as we speak a 40 member committee, is deciding the future of Lakewood Schools. What did you say about backroom bullshit? Oh well you nailed that one down.

Now here is my question, what if one of the 50-year-committee, or the Build Lakewood Committee were part of this committee? They have already shown and proven, no regards for sunshine laws, residents of the truth.

Biggest drag on this was 50-year egos, vouchers and declining attendance. Again, we might all want to look at the Mission Statement.

.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Bill Call
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Bill Call » Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:36 am

Tech companies are laying off people all over the country. Closer to home Hyland software just laid off 1,000 people. Concentrating resources on those programs is fighting yesterdays war.

Concentrating school resources on STEM programs is a mistake.
Reducing or eliminating Arts and Music is also a mistake.

My proposal to fund Arts and Music with the funds of the Three Arches Foundation and Healthy Lakewood Foundation was serious.

The $75 million in those Foundations came from the assets of Lakewood Hospital. A $1 million annual grant would preserve the Arts and Music prograns and help them fulfill their mission.

Or is their mission to write checks to the Cleveland Clinic?


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Jim O'Bryan
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Re: On Lakewood Schools Cutting Sports And Music

Postby Jim O'Bryan » Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:26 am

Bill Call wrote:Tech companies are laying off people all over the country. Closer to home Hyland software just laid off 1,000 people. Concentrating resources on those programs is fighting yesterdays war.

Concentrating school resources on STEM programs is a mistake.
Reducing or eliminating Arts and Music is also a mistake.

My proposal to fund Arts and Music with the funds of the Three Arches Foundation and Healthy Lakewood Foundation was serious.

The $75 million in those Foundations came from the assets of Lakewood Hospital. A $1 million annual grant would preserve the Arts and Music prograns and help them fulfill their mission.

Or is their mission to write checks to the Cleveland Clinic?



Bill

While you comments on 3 arches and HLF funding the arts was serious, 50% wasn't. HLF does not get enough of our money back to make a difference.

However 3 Arches that received most of the money set aside to save the hospital can fund it easily. Let's not forget than when the hospital closed it also ended over $6 million a year in support from the Clinic to Lakewood projects.

How ever, we have a larger problem, the 3-Card Monte the schools love is in full swing. Let's get a bunch of people, divide them into groups that are easier to manage, then take votes on forced items, then after votes are counted decide if you are counting people, tables, or NOTHING.

The same scam was used on the Phase 3 committee, where everyone sat at tables, and some of the tables didn't even record the vote of their table, and the leader voted for the table. Of course it went the way the Schools, and a small handful wanted. They were caught, and the truth came out.

Hang on here it comes again.

.


Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident

"The very act of observing disturbs the system."
Werner Heisenberg

"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it."
His Holiness The Dalai Lama

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