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Kenmore residents urge Akron board to keep promise on Miller South and Piper rebuilds amid cost overruns
Summary
Dozens of Kenmore residents, council representatives and community leaders told the Akron Public Schools board on May 27 they feel the district has broken a promise to rebuild Miller South and Piper on the Kenmore High School site, citing project cost increases and delays. Board members did not make a decision and administrators said options will戻
Kenmore residents, elected officials and community groups told the Akron Public Schools board on May 27 they feel the district has broken a pledge to rebuild Miller South and Piper on the Kenmore High School site and urged the board to proceed despite reported cost increases.
The matter drew sustained public comment during the board’s community reflections portion, where Tina Boyce Boyd, introduced herself as “the Ward 9 council person representing Kenmore,” and said, “11,000 voters of Kenmore are feeling like they're participating in a bit of a bait and switch.” Boyd and other speakers urged the board to honor previous commitments tied to the levy voters passed on Nov. 5.
Residents and local leaders said the delay and appearance of changing plans have damaged trust. “You told them you deserve more and are now discussing giving them nothing,” the executive director of Better Kenmore CDC told the board, characterizing the issue as both a budget and justice concern for a community already struggling with disinvestment.
Speakers recounted the campaign promise to build on the Kenmore campus and said demolition of the old high school without visible progress on a replacement has deepened community frustration. “We were lied to,” Barry Wise, a Kenmore alumnus, told the board, referring to prior board commitments and the loss of Kenmore’s name, colors and mascot. Several residents said they voted for the levy in good faith and warned they may withhold support for future levies if the district does not follow through.
Community members cited figures they said they had been given or had read in recent communications: several speakers referenced a reported project shortfall in the Kenmore work of roughly $10 million to $13 million, while former board member James Hardy told the board “there is $18,000,000 sitting in the CLC account” that he said could be used to help close gaps. The board and administration did not confirm those numbers during public comment.
Parents, teachers and neighborhood business leaders described local effects if the schools are not rebuilt in Kenmore: longer bus rides, fewer families choosing to live in the neighborhood and reduced after-school participation. John Bunton Jr., president of the Kenmore Chamber of Commerce, said the local paper consistently highlights Piper and its role in promoting Akron Public Schools, and urged the board to preserve that community asset.
Board members and staff responded that the facilities options presented to the board are still under review. Treasurer and staff presented construction alternatives at earlier committee meetings, and Superintendent Otley and members of the finance committee said the options would return for further committee review. Member Molnar said she was “unsure what's happened to the original timeline” and urged the board to be accountable to community commitments.
No vote on the school sites or designs occurred at the May 27 meeting. Board members said they expect the finance and capital committee to continue discussing the options and to return recommendations to the full board at a future meeting.
For now, Kenmore speakers said they will continue to press the board for clear timelines and to preserve the promise made to their community.
