Lakewood City Schools Levy 2026
Election Day: May 5, Early Voting: April 7–May 4

Strong Schools Create Strong Communities

Vote FOR the 2026 Lakewood City Schools Levy — May 5th

Support high-quality education, updated facilities, and expanded programs for all students in our community.

The district has placed a levy on the ballot to keep our schools strong. If approved, it will allow the district to continue paying for the high-quality teachers, programs, and student supports that thousands of Lakewood students and families depend on.

The schools haven’t been on the ballot since 2020 — most districts return to voters every three or four years. It’s time to come together and vote FOR our Lakewood City Schools!

Vote for the levy on May 5th

Lakewood students and families are counting on your vote to keep our schools and community strong!

Keep these important dates in mind:

• Apr 6
  Voter Registration Deadline
  Register to vote
• Apr 7
  Early, In-Person Voting and Vote-by-Mail Begins
• Apr 28
  Vote-by-Mail Application Deadline (8:30 p.m.)
• May 3
  Early, In-Person Voting Ends (5 p.m.)
• May 4
  Vote-by-Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before this date
• May 5
  Election Day (Polls Open 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.)

Helpful Links

• Register to vote

  Are you registered to vote at your current address? You can register or check/update your address with the Secretary of State.

• Check your status

  Check your voter registration status with the Secretary of State to make sure you’re ready to vote for our Lakewood Schools.

• Vote by mail

  Registered voters can vote from the comfort of their homes by requesting or printing a vote-by-mail application and sending it to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, P.O. Box 89448, Cleveland, OH 44101. The Board of Elections will then mail your ballot. You can return your completed ballot by U.S. mail or deliver it in person to the Board of Elections office at 1803 Superior Ave. in Cleveland. Click here for step-by-step instructions.

• Track your ballot

  If you have already requested your vote-by-mail ballot but have yet to receive it, you can track it by visiting the Board of Elections website.

• Find your voting location

  If you plan to vote in person on Election Day, it’s critical that you know where to go. Click here to look up your polling location. It’s quick – all you need to do is enter your last name and date of birth! Be sure to go to your polling location between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to lock in your vote to support our schools!

About

The Lakewood City Schools have placed an operations levy on the Primary Election ballot to ensure our schools have the stable funding needed to serve students and families today and plan responsibly for the future.

This 6.9-mill levy is the district’s first ballot request in six years. If approved, the district would use levy dollars to:

• Retain and attract talented teachers
• Maintain quality programming
• Keep technology and student safety and security up to date

The levy would cost property owners an additional $14 per month per $100,000 of property valuation, per the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer. This levy is about maintaining what we have – an excellent school district that has delivered proven results for Lakewood students and families. The district has had back-to-back 4-star State Report Cards, according to the Ohio Department of Education. Those ratings include the district meeting and exceeding state standards in key areas of achievement, progress, and gap closing. Now is not the time to stop our progress.

Lakewood students benefit from a broad, well-rounded education with excellent academics, award-winning arts programs, and a wide variety of athletic and extracurricular programs. They also have access to 15 career-technical programs and pathways like Construction Trades, Nursing, and Business Management.

Local funding accounts for 60% of the district's budget, so this levy is absolutely necessary. Without it, our schools face growing uncertainty from inflation and state and federal funding cuts that would threaten the teachers, programs, and student supports thousands of Lakewood families rely on.

Planning for the future is an important use of our precious tax dollars, and our district leaders continually strive for efficient, responsible use of our investment in public education. That’s why the district has earned clean audit awards from the State every year for the past decade.

This community supports public education because we know that strong schools are necessary for a strong community and future. In fact, voters approved the last levy with 77% of the vote in 2020. Now, our Lakewood Schools need us. We must continue investing in public education to ensure that we maintain local control of our quality schools.

You can find additional answers to frequently asked questions about the levy and related topics on the Lakewood City School District website.

Vote FOR the Lakewood City Schools levy on or before May 5!

Get Involved

There are lots of ways to be involved with our campaign. Fill out our survey to sign up for our newsletter, request a yard sign, or volunteer with the campaign:

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