[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




50TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAKOTA SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WEST CHESTER AND LIBERTY 
                             TOWNSHIP, OHIO

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                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 2008

  Mr. BOEHNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and 
recognize my hometown school system, the Lakota School District in West 
Chester and Liberty Township, Ohio, on its 50th Anniversary.
  From the humble beginnings as the Liberty-Union School District in 
1957 with an enrollment of just 1,700 students it would have been hard 
to predict the extraordinary growth and success of the district. Today 
the Lakota School District covers nearly 70 square miles, two 
townships, eight postal zones and nearly 100,000 people. It is home to 
two high schools, a freshman school, four junior schools, ten 
elementary schools, four early childhood schools and more than 18,000 
students.
  Even with the growth from a small rural district into the seventh 
largest district in Ohio the success of Lakota schools has not been 
impeded. The Lakota School District is the largest district in Ohio to 
receive an ``Excellent'' rating for six consecutive years. In 2006-2007 
the district met 29 of 30 state indicators, graduated more than 96 
percent of its students and saw 90 percent of high school students 
matriculate to college all while per pupil spending stayed well below 
the state average.
  But facts and figures only tell part of the story. It is fitting that 
this fine school district bears the word ``Lakota,'' a Native American 
word meaning unity and togetherness. Throughout the years the 
achievements of Lakota schools have been driven by the dedication and 
commitment of the entire Lakota community. Together, through a unified 
vision, the administrators, teachers, parents, students and citizens 
have made the Lakota School District a pillar of education and a 
foundation for community growth. Each and every person who has 
attended, taught, worked or simply lived in the district has played a 
role in its success.
  I'm proud to represent the Lakota School District in our nation's 
Capitol. I'm proud my children attended Lakota schools, and I'm proud 
of what has been achieved and what I know will be achieved. I 
congratulate the Lakota School District on a spectacular fifty years 
and I know another extraordinary fifty are still to come.

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