The Akron Public Schools board gave a final green light June 23 to construct a new building to house two schools in Kenmore, reaffirming a decision that was made in 2023.
The board also agreed to make the building an official community learning center, making it the 35th such project in the city in a joint effort with the city of Akron.
The building will house Pfeiffer Elementary and the Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts.
The project was approved two years ago, but had not moved forward in any significant way since then until recently. Updated architect estimates showed the project will now cost $13 million more than anticipated when the previous board voted for it, giving the current board a new decision to make.
The city has pledged to help fill the gap by signing off on the use of leftover bond money from previous CLC projects. The money can only be used toward construction of a CLC, but the city had to sign off on its use. It’s unclear exactly how much money will be available from the $18 million that currently sits in the fund. The money has been sitting long enough and collecting enough interest to incur federal penalties, which will have to be paid for out of that fund.
Using that money required the board to make the new school a CLC, meaning it will be available for use by the community for events and gatherings.
Before the city pledged that money, APS administrators presented the board with three options for moving forward with the project. The first was to do it as planned, and eating the additional costs. The second was to rebuild just Miller South, not Pfeiffer. The third option included rebuilding just Miller South, but outside of Kenmore.
Representatives from the Kenmore community had pleaded with the board not to close Pfeiffer as a school and to keep the entire project in Kenmore.
At the June 23 meeting, the board passed a resolution affirming the decision to rebuild both schools on the site of the former Kenmore High School. Superintendent Mary Outley asked the board to approve the resolution, putting everyone back on the same page about how the district will move forward with the project.
The project will be adjusted to close a much smaller anticipated funding gap that will still exist, Executive Director of Business Affairs Deb Foulk said, bringing the total cost down slightly from its anticipated cost of $76 million. That amount includes the demolition of all three buildings — Kenmore High, Miller South and Pfeiffer.
Foulk told the board the plans are being adjusted to slightly downsize a Miller South performance space and make other design changes to bring the total cost down. The opening of the school will also be delayed a year, until the fall of 2028.
Board member Barbara Sykes noted Foulk made a similar presentation to the board’s finance committee, which recommended its approval to the full board. She called the compromises “workable.”
“When we originally started, just like anything else, we look at the pie in the sky, we ask for everything,” she said. “And as we start to look at the value engineering, we realize that we could have everything but a little bit reduced in a way.”
City Councilwoman Tina Boyes, who represents Kenmore, encouraged the board to continue to look for outside funding for the bigger auditorium at Miller South, noting during public comment that a 1,000-seat venue could be used by outside groups as a revenue source for the district.
The district already took out a loan for $40 million to finance the project, and has another $15 million to use out of the general fund thanks to an offset two years ago in federal stimulus dollars.
APS will also rebuild North High School, but has a dedicated funding stream for that project: a levy voters approved in November.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Public Schools green-lights new Kenmore building as originally planned
Reporting by Jennifer Pignolet, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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