The City of Lake Station has been motivated to support the students in its community in any way it can. Mayor Bill Carroll recently provided a monetary donation to the Lake Station Community Schools with the hope of restoring and rebuilding its schools.
“The redevelopment commission made a generous donation of $50,000 to the school district,” Dr. Tom Cripliver, superintendent at Lake Station Community Schools, said. “This donation will help reinstate some extracurricular activities that we had to cut due to the loss of our referendum back in November of 2023. The donation has helped bring back the elementary student council, the DECA business program, elementary science bowl competitions, elementary publications and yearbook publications in our schools.”
This donation largely helped in the tutoring department for the students. It restored study tables and several clubs in the schools. This includes Garden Club, French Club, Spanish Club, Girls on the Run, and teacher mentors.
Cripliver is a big supporter of how extracurricular programs provide unique benefits to the students. He believes they are a necessity for any school, and he’s grateful that many of them will be making their way back to Lake Station schools.
“They help enhance the teaching and instruction of each student,” Cripliver said. “We're interested in developing good teamwork efforts, work ethic, cooperation, and problem solving. These activities are extremely important, and we were going to lose a lot of them if Mayor Bill Carroll and the redevelopment commission hadn’t made that generous donation.”
The City of Lake Station has made it a point of emphasis to maintain a strong and supportive relationship with its schools. Cripliver believes they wouldn’t be able to accomplish many of the projects the school corporation planned without the support of their team.
As a result of this collaboration, Carroll is pleased with the atmosphere they’ve constructed within their schools in Lake Station.
“I would not be mayor if it wasn't for what happens in our schools,” Carroll said. “The educational aspect is the most important thing, but the extracurricular activities really help make you who you are as a person. It teaches you things that you wouldn't necessarily learn in the classroom.”
A donation like this goes a long way for helping structure a blossoming community like Lake Station. Carroll views this donation as an opportunity to continue building upon the foundation the City has been creating for most of the past decade.
“We’re a small community that wants to help our schools and small businesses,” Carroll said. “I looked at numbers that I had through redevelopment and felt there was no better way to develop than investing into our students. When I presented that to our redevelopment commission, they were completely on board. We want what’s best for our kids and the entire community. This is a new Lake Station, a positive Lake Station where people are safe and our schools are great. We need this referendum in order to continue moving forward as a community.”
The referendum is based on the educational structure for students. While this monetary donation will certainly benefit the future outlook of the schools, both Carroll and Cripliver are asking for some support on this upcoming referendum to ensure they can turn these desired student benefits into a reality.
Cripliver and Carroll will be showing numbers in their upcoming school board meetings on October 2 and 26. Their goal is to be as transparent with the community for the ultimate goal of supporting the educational system in Lake Station.
For more information on the City of Lake Station, you can visit its website.