Akron school administrators to close 3 buildings, plan shift in attendance boundaries

A proposed redistricting plan for Akron Public Schools seeks to reduce overcrowding on the north side of town, reassign students from three closing schools and balance building use among high school clusters.

School officials unveiled the redistricting plan Thursday, which they presented that night at a public meeting at North Community Learning Center. Due to an influx of immigrant families, North is the only area of the district to see population growth in recent years.

A presentation on the plan is available online at www.akronschools.com/district/district-information/redistricting.

Other community meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Firestone Park Elementary and Thursday at East CLC.

The district's facilities plan approved in July called for closing Firestone Park Elementary, Essex Early Learning Center and Stewart Early Learning Center.

Akron Superintendent Michael Robinson said he intends to present the redistricting plan to the school board for approval in early January.

If approved, the changes would take effect next school year. Families affected by boundary shifts would have to request changes to their children's assignments during a special open enrollment period between Jan 29 and Feb. 9 next year, according to the proposal.

While elementary school students may find they are assigned to new buildings, continuity will automatically be granted for current students in their respective high schools, officials said.

Big changes proposed to Harris-Jackson CLC boundaries

Robinson noted Harris-Jackson CLC in North Hill is at 128% capacity, with 623 students enrolled, so major changes are proposed to bring the building's utilization down to the 85% range.

Since 2003, when Akron residents passed a 0.25% income tax to reconstruct and improve schools districtwide, enrollment in Akron Public Schools has declined 30%, from about 30,000 to less than 20,000 today, not counting preschool students.

In that time, the district has closed 21 school buildings.

However, the North cluster of schools has grown in elementary school population by nearly 24% between 2015 and 2022, according to district data. Every other cluster's elementary population has dropped, from as little as 6% in the Buchtel cluster to as much as 23% in Ellet.

Harris-Jackson opened as a new community learning center in the North Hill neighborhood in 2017.

More: As North Hill grows, Akron Public Schools faces tough decisions about overcrowding

Under the plan, students in the Chapel Hill area east of Home Avenue who are now part of the North cluster would be reassigned to the East cluster. Students from there who now attend Harris-Jackson and Jennings CLC would attend Barber CLC and East CLC.

In another adjustments, elementary students from the neighborhood around Easton Drive and Gorge Boulevard in North Hill would be shifted from the Forest Hill CLC to Harris-Jackson CLC.

Also, kindergartners attending the Essex Early Learning Center, which is being closed, will move to Harris-Jackson.

More: Akron Public Schools to relocate 130 kindergarten students a week before new school year

Robinson said school administrators recognize the special needs of families throughout the district, including the need for interpreters and other specialists in North Hill for the many students who are learning English as a second language.

"We have already been anticipating the concerns of those families that need those support systems," he told the crowd of about 100 in the school auditorium. Other families were elsewhere in the building watching the presentation remotely, with interpreters translating.

"Akron Public Schools is very diverse in and of itself," Robinson said. "With that diversity comes the need for equity, and we want to be sure that we are being very equitable in these movements."

Firestone Park Elementary adjustments

The redistricting plan also calls for students who attend Firestone Park Elementary, scheduled to be closed next year, to be split up among McEbright, Voris, and Glover CLCs.

Students who attend David Hill CLC, which is now part of the East cluster, would be shifted to the Garfield cluster, Robinson said. Firestone families would be able to request their students be assigned to David Hill through the special open enrollment period.

"You can opt to open enroll in any school in the district," Robinson said, but he noted it may not be possible to honor all requests. Also, parents may be required to make transportation arrangements if requests are approved.

David Hill’s graduating fifth grade classes would, under the proposal, attend Innes CLC.

School officials said they are working to find buildings for early learning programs based on space and to ensure regulations are met. They noted early learning programs will be in every cluster.

Portage Path CLC would shift to Buchtel cluster

While the redistricting plan adds the Chapel Hill area to the East cluster and shifts the David Hill neighborhood from East to Garfield, the other major change would move students living in the Portage Path area who currently attend Litchfield CLC to the Buchtel cluster.

Portage Path would maintain its standing as an International Baccalaureate School, giving the Buchtel cluster its first IB school.

Officials said consideration included the geographic proximity of the area to the Buchtel cluster and the need to balance enrollment between the two areas.

Family notifications, transportation plans pending

Robinson said district staff have been working on the plan for months, but officials want the community to have a chance to offer input before presenting it to the school board for approval in January.

"Once the board approves this, that's when the real work starts," he said.

He said that includes identifying which schools each student would be assigned to and developing new transportation plans. He said families would first receive notice of their new school assignments, but information on transportation may take longer to prepare.

Robinson said the district is also working with Metro RTA regarding transportation "to ensure the service will be able to accommodate any shifts for students who use that service."

Under the plan, high school students will continue to use the Metro bus service.

Also, students in grades kindergarten through eighth who live less than 2 miles from their schools will not be eligible for school bus transportation. Transportation for special education and homeless students will continue to be met as required.

The district is accepting feedback and questions via email at redistrictingquestions@apslearns.org.

Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: APS proposes changes attendance boundaries; Firestone Park closing