After more than a decade of collaboration, the Lakeland School System has taken formal steps to end its interlocal agreement with Arlington Community Schools. On Monday, July 14, the Lakeland Board of Education voted unanimously to direct Superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell to terminate the agreement on the first day of the 2026-27 school year.
This decision marks a significant milestone for Lakeland, which has been gradually building out its own educational infrastructure. Once reliant on Arlington Middle and High Schools for grades beyond elementary, Lakeland will now have its own full K-12 system in place beginning this school year.
“It has been discussed among the board members that, at some point once we fully built out the school system, which will take effect this year with K-12, that the interlocal agreement with (Arlington Community Schools) that has served us extremely, extremely well for the last 11 years would no longer be necessary,” Horrell said, calling ACS “tremendous partners.”
The resolution approved by the Board officially ends the interlocal partnership beginning August 6, 2026. However, Lakeland students who still wish to attend Arlington High School may apply through Arlington’s Non-Resident Admission Program. Acceptance into the program will be based on academic performance, attendance, and behavior.
In response to the decision, Arlington Community Schools released a statement reflecting on the partnership: “Over the past 11 years, it hasn’t mattered where our students lived — it mattered that they were here. Thinking, creating, achieving and shaping our future together.”
The move had been anticipated by many, as Lakeland’s long-term goal of building a comprehensive K-12 system neared completion. With this transition, Lakeland Schools enters a new chapter — one marked by full independence and the culmination of a vision more than a decade in the making.