STEM High School, currently located on the University of Akron campus, would move to Robinson Community Learning Center in East Akron next school year under a new redistricting proposal presented to Akron Public Schools Board of Education members Monday.
The change comes after parents protested a proposed move to East Middle School, saying they were concerned about the distance to the university, where STEM students take classes under a program called College Credit Plus. Students currently attending Robinson CLC would be moved to Mason and David Hill CLCs.
STEM, a high school focused on science, technology, engineering and math, has 315 students. If the school board approves the proposal, the high school could have the capacity for as many as 50 more students, school board president Diana Autry said.
Moving STEM High School to Robinson CLC would require converting an elementary school building into a high school at a cost of between $500,000 and $1 million, Chief Academic Officer and Assistant Superintendent Tamea Caver said. The district, which is expecting to cut 4% of its budget — up to $17 million in the 2024-2025 school year — did not say how the conversion would be paid for. The school’s name would change to Robinson STEM CLC.
Robinson CLC is about two miles from the university, Caver said, and is on an existing METRO bus route. The district is continuing to look into providing a shuttle bus to the university as well, Caver said. There was no information available about what a shuttle would cost.
Caver said she knew transportation to the university from East CLC, which is more than two miles away from the university, “was a concern” for parents and students alike.
Superintendent Michael Robinson said the decision to move STEM High School to Robinson CLC came in response to community members who wanted a standalone building for the school and wanted it to be closer to the university. He said it was important to him that the STEM program not be dismantled.
“We’ve listened to what they’ve asked,” Robinson said. “Certainly, they would like it to stay where it is; we’re not able to do that.”
STEM High School currently operates in the University of Akron-owned Central Hower High School building, which APS exchanged with the university for tuition credits for students and was leasing space in. The university gave notice that it didn’t want the arrangement to continue, said Debra Foulk, the executive director of business affairs for APS, but the district was able to extend the agreement for another year to find a new place for STEM High School.
“It really can be a long-term solution,” she said of the new building.
The move also comes with more parking for students — 81 spaces.
If the school moves, Robinson said, teachers and staff will move with them.
“People are not losing jobs,” he said.
The entire redistricting proposal will get a third reading before going to a vote, expected Feb. 26. Other changes to the proposal include an expectation that an early learning program will be available in every cluster.
The Conrad C. Ott Building, the home of AAA Academy, was slated to close under the new proposal but will remain open for another year. Three schools are slated to close: Firestone Park Elementary and the Stewart and Essex early learning programs.
Other buildings that will be affected by the plan, with redrawn boundaries that will bring students in or out, are Harris-Jackson CLC, Forest Hill CLC, Seiberling CLC, Barber CLC, David Hill CLC and Mason CLC.
The redistricting proposal is meant to ease overcrowding at Harris-Jackson CLC and to serve students better. Autry said they are tough decisions, but the district has to right-size itself, ensuring there are enough students to keep outside groups from trying to take over schools that have low enrollment, as is allowed under state law.
“We have to protect ourselves,” she said. “We have to make sure these beautiful buildings are operating at capacity.”
Families that are affected by the redistricting will be contacted directly, after the board has made a final decision on the proposal.
