Lomond Parents Share Concerns with the Board

At the March 10th Board of Education meeting, Lomond parents expressed concerns about recent developments with the condition of the school facility and potential impacts on their children's health, safety, and learning experience. Their thoughtful comments were expressed eloquently and passionately, and deserve close attention from the Administration, the Board, and any member of the Shaker community that cares about our schools. It's worth hearing their concerns directly by watching the meeting video starting at 25:30. Their comments are also transcribed below.

Jenae Williams

I'm a parent at Lomond Elementary School. On behalf of the parents in our community, I'm here tonight, some joining online, and others that were unable to attend. I'm here to ask for the board's support and advocacy regarding the ongoing facilities issues at Lomond.

At the February meeting, which was scheduled after parents raised concerns about the lack of communication from the district, we were informed that the school was dealing with a water leak that could not be located. Sections of the foundation had eroded, and the construction was expected to begin over spring break. It was also shared that the roof had been a persistent source of leaks for years and would not be replaced as part of the upcoming renovations. Additionally, it was revealed that the erosion appeared to have occurred over a relatively short time as it had not been identified in previous inspections.

I do want to acknowledge Dr. Glasner's email that was sent out today at 4 p.m., and we appreciate receiving an updated plan for renovations. As was discussed and agreed upon at the February meeting, we are requesting continued updates on progress, milestones, and any setbacks as the work moves forward. We also asked that it would be provided weekly in the Lomond newsletter.

In addition, we would like to better understand the following items:

• What monitoring systems are currently in place to ensure the building remains structurally safe for students and staff?

• The current status of the unidentified water leak, and whether it may be impacting the broader foundation.

• Whether there are still active leaks in classrooms now that the ice dams have melted, and the plan to address those.

• What contingency plans are in place, if repairs take longer than expected, including, including the district exploring trailers, or other temporary learning spaces to better support students and staff?

• The plan to address the roof as part of the upcoming renovations, and whether there will be opportunities for the community to receive updates and provide input, given that the Facilities Advisory Committee is no longer active.

While I want to acknowledge that the school acted quickly to relocate classrooms, the current learning conditions are far from ideal. Students have reported that some of the smaller temporary classrooms are hot and lack proper ventilation. In addition, students no longer have access to the design lab, which has been an important part of the learning experience at Lomond.

Beyond the facilities themselves, the lack of clear and consistent communication has created a growing sense of mistrust within the parent community. As parents, many of us are losing confidence that the building issues are being managed with the urgency and transparency that the situation requires. We are asking the board to help ensure that the district provides continued communication, stronger oversight of facilities, and a proactive plan moving forward.

Our children deserve a safe and stable learning environment, and our families deserve transparency. We are asking for your leadership and advocacy to help ensure this happens.

Thank you.

Casey Tobik

My daughter is a third grade student at Lomond and my son is now at the middle school. We've been there for several years. Lomond is a vibrant community, and a very unsafe building.

It has been so hard to witness these students walking in and out of a building, wondering what's happening next. I have witnessed it in the lives of not only my child, but several others.

There have been so many opportunities for this board to address what has become now a crisis among our students, staff, and faculty, in a way that should have provided so much more care and concern for the lives of the real people who are impacted.

I am asking for a lot of the same things that I think many of the parents who are here tonight, and those who aren't, will be asking for, and that is a continued degree of transparency, which in my opinion, we still have not received; accountability, which we also still have not received; and communication, which again is coming sort of as a response and not as a proactive approach.

And so, what I think we have are reasonable expectations. We don't need miracle workings. But, or maybe and, we are demanding more.

We're asking for more.

Our students and families, teachers and faculty deserve more from you as a board, more attention, more time, more clarity, more support, more transparency, and more communication.

We deserve a safe learning environment, a stable learning environment, and that has not been provided over these last weeks. We have reasonable expectations and there are so many more opportunities for this board to address what I will call a catastrophic impact that this has had on our community.

And so I join my voices with all the parents who are here, all the parents who are online, who submitted an online comment, and just really hope and pray and believe that we can be better and that we will do better.

Thank you.

Crystal Jones

I'm parent to a third grader and I'm speaking tonight regarding the health and safety of Lomond Elementary students, teachers and staff. On February 17th 2026, Lomond families were informed that structural engineers, visiting as part of the District's long-term master facilities planning, recommended removing students and staff from the southeast corner of the building due to an eroding foundation.

This was reportedly caused in part by long-term salting practices. As a result, the school closed for two days while classrooms and office spaces were relocated. We were also told that this portion of the building may remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

Parents were then invited to speak with members of the district's administrative team and a contractor. Administration was present, yet no contractor. While the meeting promised to provide historical context, updates, future plans, and answers to questions, many families left feeling that there were more questions than answers. Since then, families and staff have been trying to understand what the solution means for the rest of the school year and potentially next year.

There are several areas where the community needs answers to feel confident that student and staff safety is being fully addressed:

First, egress and emergency safety.

Doors C and D were inaccessible until further notice. Has the district confirmed that emergency evacuation requirements are still being met? Has the fire department reviewed and approved the revised egress plan?

Second, moisture and environmental concerns.

During the February 23rd meeting, we were told that the building has significant moisture issues related to the roof and windows. Yet, these items were not included in Lomond's renovation budget for the 2027-2028 school year. Per Mr. Grosse, we were informed that the district does conduct annual third-party roof inspections. What recommendations came from those inspections? And how were those recommendations used when determining Lomond's renovation scope? Our window-related concerns were not addressed in that meeting.

Additionally, we were told environmental testing has not been conducted and there are currently no plans to do so. Given ongoing moisture concerns and reports of mold and additional issues at neighboring Ludlow Elementary, many families are asking a simple question: How are we confirming that environmental testing is not necessary? And if testing becomes necessary, will results be shared with staff and families?

Third, preventative maintenance and accountability.

We were told that the district completes required inspections such as asbestos, fire, health, and exterior door inspections. We appreciate that. But we also learned that there are roughly fifteen additional inspections that can be requested but are not required. Are any of those inspections relevant in relation of the structural issues discovered at Lomond? If so, will the district proactively pursue them?

My personal concern? If Lomond had not been on the calendar to have the building renovated, what could have been the outcome from the delayed response? My daughter's classroom for the last two years has been on that side of the building.

Finally, communication and transparency.

There is a growing concern amongst our community that information is moving slowly and being shared incompletely. Trust in the process is critical, yet a simple question was asked "Who is responsible for approving building assessments, roofing, windows?"

We were initially answered with "The district." or "The team."

Only after a parent asked "Who makes the determination? Is it you?", speaking directly to Mr. Grosse. To which he answered, and I quote:

"Yeah."

"I would make that determination."

Transparency and empathy are especially important when discussing building safety. When a community member expressed concerns about what she perceived as slow and omitted information, Board President Doug Wang responded "I wish I could tell you that. You would know everything that I know, but then you would be on the board if that were the case."

This response understandably intensified concerns among attendees.

Listen. We recognize that aging facilities can present challenges. However, when the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff are involved, clear communication and transparency are essential.

We respectfully ask the board and the administration to provide a clear timeline for repairs, clarification of emergency safety compliance, information about inspection findings and preventative maintenance decisions, transparency regarding environmental testing and moisture mitigation efforts, and renovation priorities as it relates to the roof and the window repairs.

Providing this information will help families better understand our situation and restore confidence that student and staff safety remains the district's highest priority.

Thank you for your time and your continued commitment to our school community.

Thank you to these individuals for speaking out about your concerns. Any errors in transcription are those of Build Shaker Better, corrections are always welcome.