Akron Public Schools has fewer students, so why does it need more money?
Akron Public Schools current enrollment is about 27,000 students, a decline of approximately 3,000 students since 2001. This equates to a loss of about 2 students in each classroom. Reducing a classroom from 25 to 23 students doesn’t change its costs. The district must still provide a teacher to educate the other 23 students, turn on the lights in the room and heat the building. In addition, there are more demands on schools now than at any other time in the history of public education. Schools have only two primary sources of income — state and local funding. State income is driven by enrollment, which is declining throughout the state; local property taxes do not increase from year to year due to HB 920; and legislation has eliminated additional revenue from some business taxes.
