Two weeks ago, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that plans to rebuild Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Pfeiffer Elementary School on the former Kenmore High School campus are now in jeopardy. On Monday May 19, the APS Finance Committee presented three options for the Akron Public School Board’s consideration: rebuild as planned, permanently close Pfeiffer and build only Miller South on the KHS site, or close Pfeiffer and integrate Miller South into the existing Litchfield CLC property. Only one is acceptable.
Thank you to all who showed up at the Tuesday, May 27 Akron Public School’s Board meeting to speak up for Kenmore and our students. There was no vote that night.
Separately, the Joint Board of Review was scheduled to meet on Thursday, May 29 but that meeting is being rescheduled. The Joint Board of Review is where the money left in the Locally Funded Initiative account and how it can be used will be discussed. (This is the money that Akron voters approved in 2003 in the form of a 0.25% property tax increase to build schools. Despite voting 62% for that increase, Kenmore has received the least of any community/cluster.)
Here’s how you can help:
- Attend the Joint Board of Review meeting – Please check back for the rescheduled date.
- Sign Pfeiffer’s online petition.
- Most importantly, please contact our school board members!Below is a sample message you can share. Feel free to adapt it and send it to:
Carla Jackson, President cjackson2@apslearns.org
Bruce Alexander balexand@apslearns.org
Diana Autry dautry@apslearns.org
Summer Hall shall2@apslearns.org
Rev. Gregory Harrison gharriso2@apslearns.org
Dr. Rene Molenaur rmolenau@apslearns.org
Barbara Sykes bsykes@apslearns.org
Subject: Keep Your Promise to Kenmore
Dear APS Board Member,
On March 13, 2023, the Board made a commitment not to reduce Akron Public Schools’ presence in Kenmore. On Tuesday, you have the opportunity to honor that promise.
In 2003, 62% of Kenmore voters supported a 0.25% tax increase to build new schools across our district. Since then, APS has closed five of the nine schools in Kenmore—including our beloved Kenmore High School—and rebuilt only two.
As a constituent, I find this both unfair and inequitable. As a taxpayer, I consider it a horrible return on our investment.
In July 2023, the Board voted to rebuild Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and Pfeiffer Elementary School on the Kenmore High School site—a decision I believed strengthened your case for the levy to rebuild North High School. Now, with no public presentation of updated construction plans or comparative estimates, we are told the project is suddenly $10 million short—not due to lack of capital, but because of rising costs.
What has changed? What—if anything—has been done to adjust the scope or budget of the project? The public deserves answers, yet we remain in the dark.
Meanwhile, more than $18 million remains in an LFI (Locally Funded Initiative) account held by the City—funds approved by voters for school construction. These funds have sat untouched since 2017, accruing interest that must be paid back. By combining these resources with revised bids and scope adjustments, the Kenmore campus can still be realized.
A vote is a social contract. Your decision on Tuesday will either rebuild or irreparably damage the trust of over 11,000 Kenmore voters. We need you—and you need us. For the good of Akron families and students, I urge you to keep your promise.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Optional: Your Address or Affiliation, if you want to include it]