One financial forecast shows Akron Public Schools without a passed levy. The result? The district could run an annual deficit of $38 million — as early as fiscal year 2025. This deficit would quickly eat into the district’s cash reserves, placing it in a $32 million hole by 2027. 

The other path forward — if Issue 27 passes on Tuesday — does not keep the district from running an annual deficit. But it does provide it with enough new tax revenue to avoid spending all its cash reserves until 2028. 

On Monday, both financial forecasts were laid out for the Akron Board of Education on the eve of Election Day’s critical levy vote. 

APS Treasurer Steve Thompson told the school board his presentation of the two forecasts “illustrates the absolute need for levy passage.” 

State law mandates the district keep three months of expenses in reserve, which is about $90 million for APS. 

During Monday’s meeting, Board Member Barbara Sykes said Thompson’s forecasts explain what cuts the district could make to show taxpayers it is working to avoid spending more than it takes in. Sykes added that she won’t vote in favor of either five-year forecast without first explaining to the public potential district budget cuts.

The board is required to submit a five-year forecast to the Ohio Department of Education by the end of November. 

“I have to be able to go to the community and say we have done the very best that we can do, we have made the cuts that we can make,” Sykes said. “We have considered everything that we need to consider, and now this is where we are and we need your help.” 

North High School Principal Charles Morrison stands in a language arts classroom tht shows water damage on the ceiling tiles as well as along the bottom of a cupboard door. The school struggles to keep up with leakage from an old roof and from air handlers that drip condensation into multiple classrooms in the building. The district is seeking a levy Nov. 5 to replace the building with a new one. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

More about Issue 27 and Akron Public Schools

Issue 27, which combines an operating levy with a school construction bond issue, is estimated to bring in about $26 million in additional revenue in 2026. If passed, the district would begin collecting levy funds in January, bringing in an estimated $13 million in fiscal year 2025. 

The two five-year forecasts were the final piece of levy forecasting available to the public ahead of Election Day. For months, the Citizen Committee – Akron Public Schools has canvassed voters to garner Issue 27 support. 

Akronites were last asked to approve a levy 12 years ago, a period of time that advocates say is abnormally long for a public school district to go without one. The district’s finances were buoyed for a time by the pandemic-era federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund. 

Now, with the district’s finances sinking into deficit spending and North High School needing to be rebuilt, the district is asking voters for help. 

Signal background

APS Treasurer ahead of Election Day: ‘optimism and hope’

When the levy was first proposed by the administration, Thompson said he didn’t think Akron voters would approve it.

But hours away from Election Day, with the financial picture clearer and the Citizen Committee hearing positive remarks from voters, he changed his tune. 

“The feel that I get,” Thompson said, “and I hope you all get, is one of optimism and hope.”

Former Education Reporter
Andrew is a native son of Northeast Ohio who previously worked at the Akron Beacon Journal, News 5 Cleveland, and the Columbus Dispatch before leaving to work in national news with the Investigative Unit at Fox News. He is a graduate of Kent State University.