The last schools to close in Akron may not reopen as the city, short on funding, writes the final chapter on a 15-year plan to rebuild most, but not all, of its schools.
With a income tax hike, voters approved a plan in 2003 to redo all 58 buildings (excluding 12 that remain vacant or have been repurposed). Now, a month before Superintendent David James said he will present final options to the school board, plummeting enrollment has erased $100 million in state funding and construction costs continue to soar.
That means less money to go around. Some of the 10 buildings that remain will get overlooked.
“I’m not mentioning any schools,” James stressed after a reporter asked about Kenmore schools with enrollments that are particularly low.
In lieu of a more concrete plan, which ultimately must be made by a joint panel of city and school officials, James said at a school board meeting on Monday that there is definitely enough money left to rebuild a high school, maybe two but not all three. High school and other projects remain in North, Garfield and Kenmore — the latter two losing more students than any of the other clusters.
Low-enrollment buildings could close for good, sending students to buildings outside of their neighborhoods as plans to consolidate could shift boundaries for clusters and individual schools.
The Kenmore case
Instead of specifics, James noted that a recent report issued to board members lists not only average student-to-teacher ratios but the raw enrollment of each elementary school.
Discounting Bettes Elementary in the North cluster, Kenmore has the five least-populated schools among Akron’s 30 elementary schools. Student-to-teacher ratios (which include small special-education classes) are below the district average in Kenmore. That’s good for education — fewer students supports better classroom management and individualized lessons — but not necessarily ideal for budgeting.
Shrinking student enrollment, therefore, makes consolidation a viable alternative in Kenmore.
Among Kenmore’s five elementary schools, it wouldn’t make sense to close Rimer and Sam Salem. They’re new.
That leaves — in order from smallest to largest — Smith, Lawndale and Pfeiffer.
Closing all three schools also doesn’t make sense. Rimer and Sam Salem would not be able to absorb the 398 displaced students, James theorized, unless some students were bused to schools like Helen Arnold, built for more than 350 students and enrolling only 274.
Shifting students isn’t that easy, said administrators, who try to maintain goals of 25 students per kindergarten class and 30 in all others.
“Unfortunately not all classes are created equal,” facilities director Paul Flesher explained. “Ideally, they would all have 25 students. Some may have 30 or 31. What do you do? Do you make two classes or one large one? And if you have a large one, do you have the room for that?”
The leftovers
As Akron school administrators mull a final decision, they’ve made use of half a dozen schools left vacant and standing.
Central-Hower was given to the University of Akron in exchange for college scholarships. Essex and Stewart now host preschools. On Monday, the school board accepted another $220,000 in state funding to fill 56 more preschool seats.
“We’ve had to open up space in other buildings to support that expansion,” longtime board member Curtis Walker said. “That’s a good thing.”
Erie Island is now an adult nursing school. And Barrett and Riedinger elementary schools take middle and high school disciplinary transfers and students who might otherwise drop out.
Still, Goodyear, Goodrich, the Kenmore Annex, Hotchkiss, Rankin and Margaret Park (the only one slated for demolition) remain vacant. Most are used for storage. Some might serve as swing space as occupied schools are marked for reconstruction.
Remaining projects
Aside from Firestone Park in Garfield and Bettes in North, Kenmore’s Smith, Lawndale and Pfeiffer are the only elementary schools remaining in the original rebuild plan.
The aging high school and middle school also remain in the Garfield cluster. Miller South is the only specialty school left.
Meanwhile, the Firestone-Litchfield building is on track to open in fall 2016, followed by Harris Elementary, which absorbed Jackson, in January 2017, then Case in fall 2017 and Ellet wrapping up a year later.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @DougLivingstonABJ.