School District Activists Await Ruling on Petition

Activists hoping to form a new school district in Lakewood are again waiting to learn whether they have collected enough signatures to force county officials to consider the proposal.

Petitioners led by Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Rogers recently turned in 183 new signatures after county workers ruled last month that the group had fallen 86 signatures short in a part of Lakewood served by the ABC Unified School District headquartered in Cerritos.

In areas of the city served by three other school districts, county officials said Rogers’ group surpassed its goal of gathering signatures from 25% of registered voters. A ruling on the new petitions is due before the end of the month.

If the additional signatures are valid, the proposal to create a district responsible for the 22 schools in the city would go before a county committee, which would then prepare a report and recommendation for state officials as soon as December.