Rumor Has It

Lakota takes seriously its obligation to be transparent when it comes to communicating public information to the larger community. Some of the ways we fulfill this responsibility include: 

• Regular district publications that report on curricular updates, financial standings and other district initiatives, including but not limited to the District's Quality Profile, Financial Prospectus, monthly e-newsletter and other community mailers.
• A robust district website, and 22 school websites, that make available news, events, financial reports, policies and procedures, and more.
• Lakota Listens is an online tool to help our community get accurate information and answers and also resolve problems in a caring and professional manner. 
• A clear process for requesting and receiving public records about the district and its activities.
• ParentSquare is our district and school communication platform for keeping parents updated and engaged in district, school and classroom happenings.
• Online learning platforms, like Canvas and Seesaw, which allow parents to access specific lessons and assignments our teachers use to follow Ohio's learning standards. 
• About 70 active social media accounts for sharing daily news and happenings within our schools and district.
• District-level parent engagement groups, like the District Parent Council and President's Council, that keep the District accountable by asking questions and taking information back to their school communities. 
• Regular Community Conversations and board committee meetings, as well as regular monthly board meetings with an opportunity for public comment (not required by law). 

This is neither true nor possible. With the fast-paced world of internet reporting, it should be noted that news outlets utilize something that is referred to as iterative reporting. This means that the initial story that is posted to a website will include very little information and will be updated as more information becomes available. Typically, a reader can see “updated” and a date or time under the journalist’s name on articles updated in this way. Additionally, when updated, a journalist or the media outlet may choose to change the story’s headline as they see fit.

The District's social media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIN, are spaces we created to celebrate our students and staff and engage with our community in a positive and productive manner. We encourage our community to comment, like and share our posts to help communicate the great things that are happening in our district.

In order to keep the spirit of the pages in tact, we ask that our visitors follow our social media terms of use. When any of the terms of use are violated, we reserve the right to hide or delete the comment or post. We will ban users if comments are repeated, frequent violations of our terms of use or if they endanger others.

For district-level inquiries, feedback and concerns, we encourage our community to visit our Lakota Listens webpage.

 

The traditional Lakota logo was established in 2001. Historical documentation confirms that the most iconic part of the logo - the lines coming from both sides and meeting in the middle as a swirl inside the "O" of Lakota -  is intended to depict "coming together," which is the meaning of the word Lakota. Additionally, the graphic has a Native American feel, which represents the heritage that Lakota has adopted. 

In more recent years, the district has honored the logo's longstanding definition with the frequent use of our district motto (and hashtag), "WE are Lakota," established by community-wide social media poll in 2017. In its graphic form, "WE are Lakota" retains the logo's swirl to emphasize the message of unity between our Eastside and Westside schools.

In 2024, the Board of Education approved an updated version of the Lakota logo. This iconic swirl remains, continuing to represent a unified district.

Community listening sessions replaced the public comments portion of school board meetings in April 2023.

At the recommendation of local law enforcement, the change was primarily made to address safety concerns of attendees and staff. The change also helps to maintain decorum during board meetings to allow for productive business to occur. 

The listening sessions are now held in the East Freshman cafeteria just prior to the school board's regular business meeting. 

With this change, the Board has given speakers more freedom in the matters they discuss by removing topic restrictions during the listening sessions. More information about the sessions can be found on our website.

Critical Race Theory, commonly referred to as CRT, is a graduate-level course and is not part of the Ohio Department of Education’s kindergarten-twelfth grade curriculum that Lakota must follow. 

Our curriculum team, along with executive leadership, has addressed specific concerns from parents in the past and will continue to do so. This relates to CRT and any other concern a parent may have with regard to specific lessons and assignments.

Questions regarding curriculum should first be directed to the specific teacher or building administrator. If further questions or concerns arise, please contact our curriculum department through Lakota Listens.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been a part of Lakota's health curriculum for many years. In 2019, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce released its strategic plan, through which SEL was identified as one of “four equal learning domains'' along with Foundational Knowledge & Skills, Well-Rounded Content, and Leadership & Reasoning. Also adopted was the Social Emotional Learning standards for K-12 schools to follow like they do all the core learning standards. Ohio’s SEL standards lean heavily on the framework developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

Decades of research studies demonstrate that SEL improves students’ social emotional skills, attitudes, relationships, academic performance, and perceptions of classroom and school climate.  Studies also show that SEL causes a decline in students’ anxiety, behavior problems, and substance abuse.

For our younger students, SEL is part of the specials rotation for all early childhood and elementary students. Through this program, Lakota students acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals. They also learn to feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. 

At the secondary level, SEL supports like in-school therapists, mental health and wellness groups, and college and career readiness tools, for example, focus on the self-awareness subset of Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's SEL standards. 

Learn more about Lakota's approach to Social Emotional Learning at all grade levels. 

The learning standards that Lakota teachers follow is available for anyone to review on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's website. Parents have access to view specific lessons and assignments our teachers use to follow these standards at any time through our online learning platforms, such as Canvas or Seesaw.

Questions regarding curriculum should be directed to the specific teacher or building administrator to start. If further questions or concerns arise, please contact our curriculum department through Lakota Listens.
 

The timing for a potential bond issue has not yet been determined.

A ballot initiative in the form of a bond issue - different from an operating levy - will eventually be necessary to help secure the local funding required to carry out the Board-approved facilities plan. Requesting new resources from our community through a ballot initiative requires significant due diligence. The timing will be dependent on many different factors and a lot of work remains before taking this step. 

The facilities committee is working on the logistics and the specific design of its facilities alongside its architects - all factors that will further fine tune the total project cost. A timeline for securing funding will be established after the completion of this work. 

In anticipation of the District’s facilities plan, Lakota’s finance leadership has also been laying the groundwork to ease the burden on the taxpayers as much as possible when the time comes to secure local funding. The last time the District was on the ballot was in 2013 for general operating and permanent improvement funds. The last time the District was on the ballot for a bond initiative was in 2005.

Visit the Master Facilities Plan website for more information, including a comprehensive FAQ. 

As a public school district, Lakota cannot collect more money in taxes for our general operating and permanent improvement funds, called millage or mills, than our voters approve. In fact, Lakota collected less general operating mills from local taxpayers in 2024 than it did after the passage of the 2013 levy.

The last time the District was on the ballot was in 2013 for general operating and permanent improvement funds. The last time the District was on the ballot for a bond initiative was in 2005.

The last time the District was on the ballot was in 2013 for general operating and permanent improvement funds. The last time the District was on the ballot for a bond initiative was in 2005.

Ohio’s EdChoice school voucher program allows parents to use public funding meant for their child's education to pay tuition at a private school of their choice. While this program aims to provide more educational options for families, it can significantly impact funding and enrollment at public schools, including Lakota.

Originally, families could apply for a voucher if their public school was low performing or if they had a low household income. The program has been revamped by lawmakers to be available to all families in the State. Each member of the Lakota Board of Education shared at its special meeting on March 12 that parents should be able to choose where to send their children to school, whether that is their public school district or a private school. The meeting aimed to better understand how state legislators feel about the voucher system sending public dollars to private schools. State Senator George Lang and Representatives Jennifer Gross and Thomas Hall attended the meeting via phone.

How School Funding Works

Since 2021, Ohio has used the “Fair School Funding Plan” to help fund public schools. This plan considers the wealth of each community and adjusts funding based on the local tax base, including property value and household income. However, Governor DeWine’s proposed budget does not update the base costs of school districts (expenses) to match revenues. This creates an imbalance, making districts look wealthier than they are and potentially leading to less funding for schools.

Enrollment Changes at Lakota Local Schools

Since 2015, Lakota Local Schools have seen a big increase in student enrollment, especially in grades K-6. The District's enrollment has consistently exceeded estimates from studies done in 2013 and 2019. For example, nearly 900 additional students have enrolled in grades K-6 since 2018.

Due to this increase in enrollment, Lakota Local Schools changed their open enrollment policy in April 2024. The District no longer offers open enrollment for new non-employee students in grades K-6 to ensure classroom spaces are available for resident students. This policy change led to a slight dip in enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year, moving from 17,563 to 17,382 year-over-year in March.

EdChoice Vouchers: How it Works

In House Bill 96, the Governor’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 26-27, more money would be allocated to the voucher program per student than it gives to public schools. For example, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Foundation payments show:

State Average Base Distribution per Student:		$5,708
State Average EdChoice Voucher:		$6,574
State Base Funding to Lakota per Student:		$2,839

   
          

 

This means, compared to state averages, Lakota is estimated to receive around 50% of the state average distribution per student while the voucher funds 115% of the same cost.

Voucher Impact on Lakota Local Schools

The number of non-low-income families using the voucher program in the District has increased by 4,500% since the EdChoice expansion program began during the 2023-2024 school year. Even though Lakota has the fourth highest voucher rate in Ohio, the impact on Lakota’s enrollment has been minimal. Lakota’s enrollment is down by 297 students since the 2022-2023 school year, compared to over 2,100 students now using vouchers who live within the district. This shows that most students using vouchers have never been enrolled at Lakota Local Schools. The decline in enrollment is mainly due to the open enrollment policy change.