Ohio school district wrestles with looming budget shortfall, higher costs despite ‘better financial standing’

Despite enjoying “better financial standing” than its Cleveland counterpart, Akron Public Schools (APS) in northeastern Ohio is still facing an estimated $10 million shortfall this academic year.

“If nothing changes, the school district will exhaust its cash reserves by 2028,” concludes Andrew Keiper for Signal Akron. “Two years later, it could have a negative cash balance of more than $159 million.” 

To avoid a state takeover, district officials are considering another levy request, although voters passed a levy last November, said Wayne Bowers, the district’s new treasurer. 

“I understand what,” Bowers said about the district’s financial predicament during a recent school board presentation. “Now it’s time for me to dig into the why — why these numbers say these things? What’s behind all of that?” 

Reasons for the shortfall include decreased state funding, federal cuts and declining student enrollment, according to the news article. 

“Akron Public Schools estimates it costs about $114 per day to educate a student — with 77% of that money coming from a variety of non-resident tax revenue streams. In 2021, it cost less than $90 per day to educate a student.” 

Alternative educational options ‘just skyrocketed this year’ 

Meanwhile, about 200 students – or 1% of the overall student population – withdraw from the district each year, Bowers noted. 

“Some students leave for voucher schools; others attend other public school districts through open enrollment; some families move out of the district,” Keiper writes. 

This fall, the district had enrolled 19,036 students, compared to 19,938 in 2021, according to Bowers. Those figures are projected to fall below 18,000 by 2030. 

“Those choices that they have out there — charter schools and vouchers, homeschooling … that just skyrocketed this year,” said Assistant Treasurer Todd Adkins. 

As previously reported by The Lion, the number of homeschool students in Ohio reached 53,051 in the 2023-24 academic year, exceeding the previous COVID-19 pandemic high of 51,502 students. 

“Homeschooling was already on a slightly slower upward trajectory, and had been for a number of years,” said Douglas J. Pietersma, research associate at the National Home Education Research Institute. “What COVID did, from our perspective, is just infused it.” 

Parents choosing to homeschool cite many reasons, including the ability to tailor education to their family’s unique needs. 

“The quality of education is still one of the big issues,” Pietersma said. “Safety issues are a huge thing – people who have had their children in schools where they’ve been bullied or assaulted or had exposure to drugs.” 

Meanwhile, APS still has time for contingency measures “before the forecast becomes a crisis,” according to Keiper. 

“The district is working on a plan administrators hope to finalize around Christmas before notifying staff of cuts. It’s also undergoing a performance audit by the state, which Bowers said will help evaluate staffing levels.” 

Likewise, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is taking steps to address its own budget shortfall, which is considerably higher than APS’ projections at an estimated $150 to $200 million over the next three years.