BOND UPDATE

Students at Hollywood, Roosevelt, and Stewart Elementary Schools are getting a thrilling upgrade with some new playground equipment, thanks to the Lakeshore Public School bond passed in May 2023.  The bond allocated funds for school improvements, including playground enhancements, recognizing the importance of outdoor play for physical activity, social interaction, and cognitive development. 

Aligned with Lakeshore Public School's mission of promoting student well-being and academic success, these playground upgrades invest in safe, engaging, and accessible spaces. They demonstrate the district's dedication to nurturing the whole child and fostering a culture of learning beyond the classroom walls.

LINCOLN TOWNSHIP — New technology in elementary classrooms at Lakeshore schools was a big deal in 2023, with more to come next year, according to Superintendent Greg Eding.  “We’re preparing kids for the world,” Eding said during a tour of Janine Harrison’s third-grade classroom at Stewart Elementary School.

The elementary students received one-to-one laptops in the fall through a Lakeshore Excellence Foundation grant. And earlier this month, Harrison’s classroom was set up as a model classroom to test the new interactive technology that is being purchased using some of the money from the almost $20 million bond voters approved in May.  Eding said the new technology includes an interactive projector, teacher station, document camera and sound system for the teacher and students.

“You can’t just buy those updates off the shelf,” Eding said. “Those are updates you have to have customized.”  He said what was tested in Harrison’s room will be replicated in the almost 60 kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms in the school district.

“This is a game-changer,” said Harrison. “The first day (the students) came in and they saw the new technology, they were like, over the moon.”  Harrison said the technology ties in with the one-to-one laptops the students received.  During the tour, Harrison’s students were busy putting together Google Slides presentations on their laptops,  with help from fifth-graders from Ryan VanDusen’s classroom.  The students then shared their presentations with the rest of the class using the new interactive projector.

“This projector is amazing,” Harrison said. “I can have a student with a pen use the interactive to stand up there and present their Google Slides.”  Harrison said the presentations went with persuasive pieces her students had previously written.

Third-grader Charlie Falkner demonstrated using the new interactive projector by sharing his piece on “Why I  Should Get a Dog.”  Falkner said he really liked the new projector.  “Our old projector didn’t work so good. We had to turn all the lights off just to see anything,” he said. “Now,  we don’t have to turn any lights off.”  Harrison said the images on the new projector are much clearer.

“As a taxpayer, and I am a taxpayer in this district, I can’t think of any better way to spend the funds than giving these kids such a great experience,” Harrison said. “They can see things. This is something that needed to be done.”

Eding agreed. “This is what a quality education looks like,” Eding said. “I’m just excited to provide the tools to give the kids this experience. The ability for an 8-year-old (student) to stand in front and ... maneuver through the slides seamlessly with an interactive white board is an opportunity that he never would have had before.”

Eding said the new technology is a small part of the almost $20 million bond, but it has a huge impact on student learning. He said all of the elementary classrooms should have the new technology soon.  

Middle school car line

Another big change made possible by the approval of the bond in May is how parents will drop off and pick up their children at Lakeshore Middle School.  Plans are to create an additional drop-off and pick-up loop, off of Washington Avenue using 18.85 acres of land the district purchased east of the school earlier this year.  

The additional drive is expected to get four times as many cars off the roadway and onto school property, Eding said.  “There were some safety concerns at certain times of the day with cars getting staged on John Beers (Road),”  Eding said. “That causes some close calls on the road.”

He said they expect two-thirds of the students to be picked up and dropped off using the new drive, with the  remaining students still dropped off and picked up off John Beers Road.

He said construction will start next year, but is uncertain if it will be ready by the fall of 2024.

Eding said the bond money will be spent on a multitude of projects next year, including replacing the  remaining original doors and single-pane windows and resurfacing the parking lots throughout the district.

In addition, many of the schools have been earmarked for upgrades in their electrical systems, fire alarm,  instructional technology, ADA and code compliance and heating and cooling systems.

Contact: lwrege@TheHP.com, 932-0361, Twitter: @HPWrege

The $19.9M Lakeshore Bond to cover basic priority needs at all District buildings was approved by voters on May 2nd. We would like to thank our Lakeshore residents for their amazing support. We know this is a tax increase for the residents of our District, and by passing the bond, this is now a responsibility for us as a School Board and Administrative team. Again, a huge thank you to all those who came out and voted!

Last Fall, Lakeshore conducted a community survey asking for feedback regarding facility improvements in the District. We had 1400 respondents to the survey and we learned that the community would support a tax increase if it was for basic needs that include boilers, parking lot repaving, and roof replacement. We also learned that our community desires more communication about our general programming and our facilities.

A special thank you to the volunteer parent committee that helped with getting the message out about what this bond will do to help our District. It’s so fun to work with such an energetic group of people. Lakeshore Public Schools; Grounded in Tradition; Committed to Excellence. Go Lancers!

Proposed May 2023 Bond Program:

• $19,900,000 covering basic “priority needs” at all District buildings

• A 0.90 mill tax increase is required to generate the bond funding ($90 increase per year for $200,000 home)

May 2023 Bond Program Projects – Big Picture Work Categories

• Parking Lots, Drives, and Sidewalk Upgrades

• Roof Replacement (at Hollywood Elementary and the Middle School)

• Windows, Doors, and Metal Siding Upgrades

• ADA and Code Compliance Upgrades

• Heating Cooling and Ventilation Upgrades

• Electrical and Fire Alarm Upgrades

• Classroom Furnishing & Equipment Upgrades

• Instructional Technology Upgrades

Specific Bond Work Scope List

How the Work Scope was Determined/Decided

In the Fall of 2022, Lakeshore Public Schools conducted a community survey asking for feedback regarding facility improvements in the district. 1390 responded to the survey (Thank You!).  Here are the survey results:

• General Survey Report - Summary of the findings from the 2022 Community Survey

• Responses Listing - Full listing of the responses to all open-ended questions in the 2022 Community Survey