Akron Public Schools superintendent to present plan for cuts at 4 p.m. Here's how to watch

The Akron Public Schools board on Monday will hear the plan to cut millions of dollars from the district's budget ahead of next school year.

The superintendent is presenting the "Fiscal Reorganizational & Restructuring Plan" to the board's finance and capital management committee at 4 p.m. Monday at the district's headquarters at 10 N. Main St. The meeting will be livestreamed on the district's YouTube page. An agenda for the meeting shows a presentation about the cuts, but no specifics about what is planned.

Superintendent Michael Robinson said previously he would "strive" to cut at least $15 million, which is about 4% of the district's budget. He has not yet said if layoffs or entire programs could be on the line. The school board already committed to making the cuts, approving a five-year forecast to submit to the state that promised to make the trims before the next fiscal year begins July 1. But what exactly would be on the chopping block, and what the final number would be, has not been shared.

Robinson has also said this would be the first of likely several rounds of cuts over the next two to four years in Akron schools, which is facing declining enrollment but also the drop-off of federal stimulus dollars from the pandemic, which end in September. The district has also gone 12 years without passing a levy, despite inflation and new labor contracts that have increased costs. The state legislature also has not committed to fully implementing its new funding formula, which allocates more money to high-need districts like Akron over a period of years.

Monday's presentation also includes "over-staffing," additional, unplanned expenditures added to the budget in the last year and "too large of a facilities footprint."

The board has been weighing a levy request, possibly on the November ballot. But board members have also talked honestly about needing to rebuild trust in the community ahead of such an ask.

This story will be updated following the meeting.

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 superintendent to present plan for cuts today