Akron Public Schools leaders say they have to carve roughly $11 million out of the district’s 2026–27 budget, and they insist they are trying to do it without gutting classroom instruction. Superintendent Mary B. Outley laid out the early blueprint at a late February school board meeting and framed it as step one in a longer effort to stabilize the district’s finances. The idea, officials said, is to limit the classroom fallout while trimming administrator roles, tightening departmental spending and scaling back some programming.
What officials proposed
Outley’s proposal would pull about $6.4 million from personnel costs, $4.2 million from operational efficiencies and roughly $1.85 million from programming. Administrators say that would mostly come from eliminating or restructuring dozens of jobs, reducing outside contracts and cutting back some summer offerings and testing expenses. According to Ideastream Public Media, staffing reductions could affect about three dozen positions, including administrators, teachers tied to the College & Career Academies and special-education coordinators.
Where the money comes from
Personnel already accounts for roughly 80 percent of Akron’s $386 million general operating budget, and officials told the board they hope to lean on retirements, resignations and internal transfers to shrink staff instead of turning to sweeping layoffs. As Signal Akron reported, Outley also said that every student who leaves Akron Public Schools costs the district about $10,000, and that transporting students who attend non-APS schools will run the district more than $3 million this year.
A multi-year squeeze
District leaders stressed that the $11 million is only the opening round. Outley told the board Akron may need about $58 million in cuts over the next three years to avoid state oversight and to protect its cash reserves. Ideastream Public Media reports that Board President Barbara Sykes blasted the state funding formula and warned that proposed shifts in state dollars could tighten the vise on districts that are challenging voucher programs in court.
Parents and teachers push back
The reaction in the room was immediate. Parents and staff at the meeting raised alarms that the cuts could weaken early literacy efforts and other student supports. According to News 5 Cleveland, Outley’s presentation listed about 16 administrator positions, 13 College & Career Academies teachers and several paraprofessional and special-education roles as potentially on the chopping block, although union bumping rules and internal reassignments could change who actually ends up leaving.
Levies helped, but did not solve it
Voters signed off on an operating levy in 2024 that brings in roughly $26 million a year, a major boost that still is not enough to erase the district’s money troubles. District leaders say the new revenue will not fully offset inflation, enrollment declines and rising costs. As Signal Akron reported when the levy passed, trustees and the treasurer cautioned that the added money improves the outlook but does not remove the need for tight budgeting or possible future ballot requests.
What happens next
The board is expected to take up the package in March. If trustees approve it, affected staff would be shown existing openings and given a chance to transfer before any involuntary moves are made. News 5 Cleveland noted that the board plans a vote next month, and Akron Public Schools’ own news page says the district is working on a five-year financial plan and will keep updating the community as the process moves forward.
