Akron Public Schools’ budget is better off than predicted. A preliminary update to the school district’s financial forecast shows it could face an $8.5 million budget shortfall for the 2028-29 school year — compared to the $37.1 million previously predicted when APS submitted its forecast to the state in February.
Financial Challenges
Akron Public Schools, alongside many other public school systems in the state, face financial hurdles due to shrinking enrollment and an outdated state funding formula. In Akron, the financial change, Treasurer Wayne Bowers said, is two-fold. APS ended the 2025-26 school year carrying over $2.9 million — thanks to a $4.5 million increase in tax revenues and a $4 million decrease in predicted expenses, Bowers said during an Akron Board of Education retreat on Saturday.
The new Kenmore neighborhood campus, a $76 million project, is expected to open for the 2028-29 school year. Its funding is split among a $43 million loan, $21 million in locally funded initiative money, and general fund dollars. Bowers said the need for general fund money has been delayed by two years. The district is still projected to spend against its cash balance every year — from $7.3 million for the upcoming school year to $90.7 million for 2030-31, which could bring a shortfall of more than $170 million by the end of that year.
Future Plans
Stemming that bleeding, Bowers said, will still require budget cuts. That could mean making budget cuts to eliminate $34 million in deficit spending expected over the next two years. Specifics of those cuts were not discussed on Saturday, but resizing the district’s footprint through consolidations has been alluded to in prior meetings and in Bowers’ recent evaluation.
Goals for Superintendent Mary Outley and Bowers for the upcoming school year were up for debate at Saturday’s meeting. The board gave both administrators glowing reviews in evaluations released July 17, noting Outley made satisfactory progress toward her goals throughout the 2025-26 school year. Outley is also charged with improving third-grade literacy, a goal that was marked as “in progress” in her evaluation.
Original reporting: Signal Akron — read the source article.
