Akron Public Schools Treasurer Steve Thompson laid out a scenario during Monday night’s school board meeting that would allow the district to recover from a substantial projected budget shortfall and follow through on its promise to rebuild Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Pfeiffer Elementary on the site of the old Kenmore High School.
Still, Thompson’s plan is not guaranteed and would leave a shortfall of about $2 million — although he told school board members the difference could be addressed through design changes.
Here’s what needs to happen and how Akron schools got into this position more than two years after the Kenmore project was approved.
Where do the city, schools and community stand on the project?
If the Kenmore neighborhood has its way, the project will continue as planned. Same for city officials and education leaders.
So why, if there’s consensus across the board, hasn’t a decision been made?
The answer is money — specifically about $18 million in local finance initiative funds that have been parked for years in a shared account between the city and Akron Public Schools.
The delays, largely caused by internal changes in project management, caused the expected cost of the Kenmore project to rise from $63 million two years ago to $76 million today. That’s offset by about $3 million the district has made from investing some of the money but still leaves a $10 million budget shortfall.
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Both the city and the district have tentatively agreed to share most of the $18 million to fill the budget gap, but nothing has been signed. Thompson said this will still leave a $1 million or $2 million gap.
“We can’t depend on that money; we can only depend on what we have, correct?” board member Summer Hall asked Thompson during Monday night’s school board meeting.
Hall’s question came amid a presentation from Thompson that described the funding structure and how it would change if the district receives most of the money in the shared fund.
“My understanding is that we are working towards this as a goal,” Thompson said. “But you are correct, it is not a guarantee.”
When asked by board member Diana Autry which governing body the decision on the shared money lies with, Thompson said that was likely a question for an attorney.
Why did the price tag increase so much?
The Kenmore Project, as it’s known within the school system, has faced a series of delays.
It didn’t break ground until nearly two years after the project was approved. The delay occurred after project management was switched from Thompson to Director of Facilities Steve Keenan.
Now, with district spokesperson Stacey Hodoh confirming that Keenan is on administrative leave while the district conducts an undisclosed investigation, Debra Foulk, the district’s executive director of Business Affairs, takes over the project.
The district has $42 million from a certificate of participation, a financial tool used to fund public projects, and $15 million in pandemic-era relief funds that was set aside for the project.
Why is the Kenmore community so upset?
Kenmore residents took to the streets and voiced their displeasure at board meetings after news broke that the school district may have to defer its longstanding promise to build a new school in the community.
During a May board meeting, Thompson laid out three options for the project — all of the proposals that drew the ire of the community.
–The first was to continue as planned, with or without the local finance initiative funds.
–The second and third options both called for closing Pfeiffer Elementary and moving those students to other schools.
“There’s nothing left, they’re taking everything from Kenmore,” Kenmore parent Sandy Chrapko told Signal Akron last week at protest in front of Pfeiffer Elementary last week. “We passed the levy, and we’ve trusted the school board, and they’re letting us down.”
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On Monday night, APS Superintendent Mary Outley attempted to clear up some confusion and voiced her support for Thompson’s financial management of the project.
“The goal here was not to create confusion [with these options], it was to be transparent,” Outley said.
Chrapko’s sentiments have been shared by other parents and members of the community, including Ward 9 City Council Member Tina Boyes, who has spoken several times at Akron Board of Education meetings.
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Many parents of Pfeiffer Elementary students are worried that if the school is closed and the Kenmore project does not move forward as planned, their kids will be forced to walk down busy roads to another school.
Beyond safety concerns, delaying or eliminating the Kenmore project would deal a blow to Kenmore’s longtime revitalization efforts, something Shanan Painter, a family liaison at Pfeiffer Elementary, spoke about at last week’s protest.
“I think people would give up,” Painter said. “It would make things way worse. And I think people would be defeated.”
