HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The future of the campus of what is currently Lakewood Elementary remains in flux as Huntsville City Schools' recently-approved capital plan goes into motion. Under the current feeder plan for Jemison High School, Lakewood is expected to receive a new home, moving to the present location of the Academy of Science and Foreign Language.
But it's a rumored plan to turn the current Lakewood facility on Kenwood Drive into an alternative school that has drawn the ire of some in the community, according to District 1 School Board candidate Chaundra Jones.
In a statement released Sunday, Jones said constituents are voicing concerns "that such a move could negatively impact property values and the safety of their communities."
“Our community deserves to be informed about decisions that affect their neighborhoods and their children’s education," said Jones. "The closure of Lakewood Elementary and its conversion into an alternative school was a significant decision that should have involved open dialogue with the community."
Jones said she advocates for better transparency in the matter. "You want to have buy-in from the entire community in order to move plans forward," she said. "When people have felt like they are left out of that process, that makes a big difference."
Current District 1 Board of Education member Michelle Watkins confirmed with FOX54 on Thursday that there are discussions about the future of Lakewood's current campus. Though the alternative school was not explicitly referred to, she made clear that nothing has been set in stone at this juncture.
"The superintendent has not made a decision on that yet. He has some ideas, he just hasn't made a decision," Watkins said. We have reached out to Watkins for additional comment.
Watkins is vacating her seat on the school board in a bid to replace Devyn Keith as a District 1 City Council member. That race is heading to a runoff election later this month. Watkins had said in a June candidates' forum held by the Alabama chapter of the League of Women Voters that "the initial plan" involved "moving [alternative school Apollo Academy] students to Lakewood."
Devyn Keith spoke with FOX54 News on Monday. "How is it that a school that is being built, which would be the new Lakewood, is good enough for a new set of students, but the alternative school, those students get an old school?
"If it's time to close a campus, that means that campus is not good for any students," Keith continued. "You should not take kids and move into a new school, then take kids and move them into an old school."
The race to fill Watkins' seat on the school board is also heading for a runoff; Jones and Pat King are in the running to take the position.