What does $85 million get Akron Public Schools?
According to Hasenstab Architects, it’s not enough to build the version of North High School that the Akron Board of Education approved in February.
During Wednesday evening’s lengthy Finance and Capital Management committee meeting, architect Brandi Fry asked board members to choose from three options that amounted to keeping amenities initially promised or staying within the budget. She also told board members it’s not possible to keep the project they previously approved at an $85 million price tag.
The shift from what the board already approved this year came as a surprise to several members.
“I believe the board was blindsided last night because we were led to believe the current plan we had in place months ago was going to have everything included,” board member Nathan Jarosz said on Thursday. “I felt that what was being shared to us had some holes through it and I feel there was a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding.
“I feel bad for a community that has had to wait so long for a project like this.”
The North cluster is the fastest growing in the school district. APS recently redistricted Leggett CLC to prevent overcrowding at nearby Jennings CLC.
The proposals presented Wednesday were:
- Concept 1: A $105 million to $110 million, 208,000-square-foot new build with all requested amenities.
- Concept 2: An $85 million renovation of the newest portion of North High School plus an addition totaling 187,000 square feet. The layout does not include a multi-purpose room, auditorium, cafetorium, auxiliary gym or an Akron Alternative Academy satellite classroom.
- Concept 3: An $85 million, 169,000-square-foot new build. It does not include a multi-purpose room, AAA satellite classroom or dedicated robotics space. Also, the district would need to choose between an auditorium or a cafetorium and auxiliary gym.
Board President Barbara Sykes was displeased and frustrated by Fry’s presentation.
“I know what I voted for — this is really perplexing to me that we’re hearing this,” Sykes said.
Debra Foulk, APS executive director of business affairs, did not return requests for comment by deadline Thursday.
Architect recommends third option for North Hill
Concept 2 is the most similar to what board members approved in February, but Fry said it is the highest risk option because it relies on renovations of the existing building. Concept 3 has the fastest schedule and eliminates concerns posed by renovating a portion of the property that was built 50 years ago. (The original building is 90-plus years old and would be demolished under any of the proposals.)
If the district moves forward with Concept 2, North High School would be the only public high school in APS without an auditorium.
Fry recommended the third option.
When the board approved the previous design, a construction manager at risk had yet to be hired, Fry said, leaving the architect to make the “best calls” based on the firm’s expertise. Since then, U.S. construction costs have continued to rise. That increase is also impacting the Pfeiffer/Miller-South project.
“In order to meet the $85 million budget, there will have to be concessions,” Fry said.
Fry said she knew that in 2022 or 2023 when Steve Thompson served as district treasurer and they had preliminary discussions about construction at the school. At that time, she estimated the project would cost about $103 million.
Thompson said in 2025 that the $85 million bond would not be enough to cover the project, adding that the district could use other loan options to backfill the cost.
The North High School design approved in February included a 750-seat auditorium. Cafetoriums — combined cafeterias and auditoriums as in Concept 3’s proposal, are only found in the APS’ elementary and middle schools.
Under Concepts 2 and 3, North High School would be one of the district’s smaller traditional high schools — Ellet, Buchtel, Firestone and Garfield CLCs are all above 200,000 square feet (square footage for East CLC was not readily available).
Due to college and career pathways, APS buildings aren’t ‘Typical high schools’
The financial shift came after APS hired C.T. Taylor Construction as the project’s construction manager in May, Fry said during Wednesday’s meeting. (C.T. Taylor is also overseeing the Pfeiffer Elementary/Miller-South School project.) The $85 million budget was listed in the request for proposals for the construction manager, Fry said, but bidders did not have to prove the budget was valid.
Barb Shergalis, with Westfield Consulting Group, reminded board members that none of APS’ buildings are “typical high schools” due to their myriad of college and career pathways. North High School’s tracks include HVAC and IT programs and early childhood education — with preschool rooms in the building.
“As we move down the line, we see the budget issues that are challenging Akron Public Schools,” Shergalis said. “C.T. Taylor came on and validated the work that Westfield Consulting did in terms of the feasibility and costs associated with a renovation. … Hasenstab right-sized the new construction, which is what you saw here today.”
The district could delay portions of the construction — such as an auditorium — until a later date, Fry said, leaving Sykes to ask where the money for that would come from when voters already approved the $85 million bond.
Shergalis said that, in core team meetings, the project managers have talked for months about the high school being over budget. The core team includes representatives from the architect and other consultants, as well as district administrators. The core meetings are not held in public, though some board members have recently attended.
“Every school district faces tough decisions when they build a new building,” Shergalis said.
Sykes interjected: “Every citizen faced tough decisions when they go to the poll and decide to vote for a levy. We said what we needed in order to give them a school, to give them a school that is respectful of their community — that is equal to what the other schools look like. We told them what we needed, they said OK, you said OK and now we’re hearing something totally different and it hasn’t even been a month.
“Why would the children that go to North High School expect a high school any less than the ones that we’ve been building for the other children throughout this community? We were told that you could do this. And now we’re hearing that you can’t.”
Sykes left the meeting before it ended.
Board members discussed the proposed changes with Fry and Shergalis for the bulk of the more than two-hour committee meeting.
On Thursday, Finance Committee chair Phil Montgomery recognized information had not flowed to the board from the core meetings but said the “multi-million-dollar question” will be what C.T. Taylor can build the district at a guaranteed maximum price within its budget — as construction bids could still come back at $100 million.
“I get the frustration and the disappointment in not getting everything we wanted, but the reality of it is we’re two years past when the levy passed, we’re in high inflationary times across the country, construction costs are rising, and the request [was] ‘If we could have everything we wanted, here’s where we’re at,’” Montgomery said. “We’re at a decision point — do we hold to the $85 million, or do we try to raise additional funds or come up with additional funds?”
