City and school officials on June 6 discussed options to cover rising costs for the proposed Miller South–Piper school project at the Kenmore site, saying legal work and an arbitrage calculation are needed before a final funding decision.

Mayor Malik, speaking for the city administration, told the joint board the city’s law department believes "we would need an amendment to the agreement to facilitate any future project using these funds," referring to the Community Learning Centers (CLC) agreement tied to the local LFI funds. He added the money could be used for projects "that could be deemed community learning centers," but that the current agreement assumes state-funded school construction and therefore may not cover projects with no state share.

Dr. Thompson, representing Akron Public Schools administration, told the panel that cost estimates have risen since architects last produced numbers three years ago. "Three years ago, it was quoted by our architects ... that we were looking at this project was a total of $63,000,000," Thompson said, describing a previous funding stack of $40 million in certificates of participation (COPS), $15 million in ESSER funds and about $8 million in local funds. New architectural estimates now put the combined Miller South–Piper project near $76 million, Thompson said; the district currently shows about $42 million in COPS and $15 million in ESSER.

Board members and city council members asked for more detail on several alternatives discussed by the administration: proceeding with both Miller South and Piper at Kenmore (the higher-cost option), building only Miller South (which Thompson said would reduce cost by about $15 million to $20 million, bringing the project to just under $60 million), or relocating Miller South to the Litchfield campus (a preliminary, architect-unverified estimate of about $45 million). Thompson and city staff emphasized the Litchfield figure was a rough estimate and said architects would need to assess that site.

City staff and district officials said they are assembling documents to compute any arbitrage liability tied to LFI proceeds issued in February 2016; the arbitrage vendor will use those documents to calculate how much interest the account owes. Steve Fricker, a city staff member working with Dr. Thompson, said once documents are gathered the arbitrage calculation "would not take a long time. A week or so, maybe." The parties said they will use outside firms that specialize in these calculations.

Council President Somerville and Mayor Malik urged that the city also address community access to Community Learning Centers facilities, noting insurance requirements have hindered public use. Mayor Malik said the city is willing to explore whether the entirety of the LFI funds, "absent the arbitrage," could be applied to Kenmore if that would close the gap. Board members and the mayor asked legal teams to draft potential amendments to the current CLC agreement to enable use of the funds if both partners agree.

Residents and local officials urged priority for Kenmore during public comment. Councilwoman Tina Boyes and resident Victoria Pastor described local history and community investment in the site; Vicky Lamson, who identified herself as a longtime school cafeteria worker, said the school provides a family environment and urged officials to "give us a chance," speaking of children and neighborhood stability.

The boards did not adopt a funding plan at the meeting. Members agreed to continue meetings, complete the arbitrage calculation, have legal teams draft potential amendments to the CLC agreement, and reconvene to review updated cost estimates and legal options. A motion to adjourn was moved by Reverend Harrison, seconded by Council President Somerville, and carried 5–0.