A proposed Akron Public Schools redistricting plan that will be unveiled to residents later today will recommend the closure of one elementary school, Firestone Park, and shift boundaries to move some students in the North cluster to less-crowded schools.
The citywide redistricting plan primarily affects elementary school students in the North cluster, whose schools are over capacity, said Barbara Sykes, a newly elected member of the school board who will take office next month and who was briefed on the proposal. She said the high schools, including North, are largely unaffected by the proposed changes.
Public meetings planned to share Akron schools redistricting plan
The full proposal will be shared with parents and others at public meetings beginning tonight; the first is at 6:30 p.m. at North High School at 985 Gorge Blvd. in Akron. Subsequent meetings will be held Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Firestone Park Elementary School auditorium at 1479 Girard St. in Akron and Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the East Community Learning Center auditorium at 80 Brittain Road in Akron.
Sykes said the plan to redistrict some students into different schools seemed to be well considered and took into account the amount of growth on Akron’s north side. She said the administration was trying to accommodate that growth with as few changes as possible.
A spokesperson for the school district, Mark Williamson, said in an email that the plan “would balance out our district in terms of enrollment.”
“Some of our schools are underutilized,” he wrote. “Others are full. We will work to redraw some boundary lines for which students attend which schools.”
Williamson did not make anyone from the district available to talk about the plan. While he said he believed a vote would take place before the end of December — the board’s last regularly scheduled meeting is Dec. 18 — Sykes said she thought a decision would be made next year. The final redistricting plan would affect students for the 2024-2025 school year.
“Nothing is in stone,” Sykes said. “This is the proposal. It’s why it’s important to have meetings as quickly as possible with parents.”
Residents worried about Firestone Park potential closure
But City Council Member Donnie Kammer, who represents Ward 7, the area around Firestone Park Elementary School, said he’s heard from residents worried about that school’s closure. They question how much feedback the district really wants and whether it shares their concerns.
While Kammer was also briefed on the redistricting plan, he said there was very little notice given to residents during the busy holiday season. Details of the community meetings were released Tuesday afternoon.
“They’re putting together three meetings within a week? They’re not really getting community input,” he said. “It doesn’t look good.”
Kammer said he asked Akron Public Schools Superintendent C. Michael Robinson Jr. to consider keeping Firestone Park open for another year, but he said he didn’t feel as though his request was heard. Closing the school and removing teachers from the community will affect local businesses, he said, in addition to creating the potential for a vacant eyesore.
“I have nothing nice to say about that,” Kammer said of the proposed closure. “I believe the school should continue to stay open.”
Kammer said the plan also includes sending more students from the Firestone and Kenmore areas to the under-enrolled Garfield cluster. And the district reiterated its plan to go to voters in November for a levy in order to rebuild North High School.
“What they’re doing, it is a broad change,” he said.
Sykes said that, as much as possible, the administration made an effort to make minimal changes so as to not disrupt students more than necessary.
“I feel good about what seems to be the approach,” she said. “They have been thoughtful.”
Shifting school boundaries is “a very sensitive matter,” said City Council Member Russel Neal Jr., who was also briefed on the proposal. Neal, who represents Ward 4, said the district tried to be as equitable as possible in its proposed decisions.
“They’re doing their best to be sensitive to how changes are going to affect different communities,” Neal said. “Right now, they’re just still in the planning stage.”
Neal said multiple options for redistricting are being considered. Transportation access will be among those considerations in making a final decision, he said.
In addition to the series of meetings this week and next, Williamson said residents will have until Jan. 7 to share their thoughts on the plan.
