Oversight
Akron Public Schools and the city of Akron have signed a cooperative agreement (to view the document, download the free Acrobat Reader) for Akron's community learning centers. A brief summary of the agreement follows.

Who will pay for the community learning centers?

• A 0.25 percent income tax increase was approved in May 2003 and is in place for 30 years unless the project is paid off early. The city may choose to renew the tax for an additional 20 years if necessary.
• The city of Akron and Akron Public Schools have locked in a favorable bond rating to obtain $215 million. This money will pay for segments 1 and 2 and a portion of segment 3.
• Akron Public Schools will pay the city $3 million annually from its permanent improvement fund to cover a portion of the project's costs until the project is complete.

• The Akron Board of Education is the owner of record for the community learning centers and the land they sit on, unless it chooses to lease the land from a third party.
• Akron Public Schools is responsible for utilities, maintenance and repair.
• In order for the city of Akron to sell bonds to pay for the buildings, the city will have an ownership interest. The city's ownership interest will end when the bonds have been repaid or the term of the agreement has expired.
• The Ohio School Facilities Commission, which will pay 59 percent of the total construction cost, will have an ownership interest.
• For the purpose of state and federal laws, the buildings will be considered schools.

• Akron Public Schools and the city will work together to select building sites, approve designs, and decide major changes in the design or budget.
• Akron Public Schools will oversee the bid process and property acquisition.

• Akron Public Schools has priority use of the buildings. It will establish a shared-use time schedule with the city.
• The buildings will be used primarily for educational, governmental and civic needs. Any use beyond this is considered auxiliary.
• Auxiliary users must pay Akron Public Schools to use the buildings.
• Beginning on Dec. 1, 2006, the city will pay the schools $30,000 annually to help cover utility and maintenance costs. This amount will be adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price Index.

• A 10-member Joint Board of Review, comprised of equal parts Akron Public Schools and the city, will be established. Each side will name five members to the JBR. For the city, two members will be the president of city council and the chairman of the finance committee.
• Akron Public Schools maintains the ultimate responsibility for final decisions; but, if agreements cannot be reached, arbitration will be sought.
• A Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Workforce Development Advisory Committee will be established to involve local and disadvantaged workers.
• A 10-member Citizens Monitoring Committee, comprised of business, labor and finance leaders, will monitor expenditure funds.
• A CLC Advisory Committee will be established and comprised of four members designated by Akron Public Schools, four members designated by the city and one member voted on by the other eight members. The advisory committee will review documents and provide advice and recommendations on the CLCs.

Joint Board of Review
The Joint Board of Review makes recommendations to the Akron Board of Education and the city regarding site selection, design and construction of the project, as well as any enhancements and changes to the Master Facilities Plan and the project.

The Joint Board of Review is composed of 10 members: five members appointed by the Board of Education and five members appointed by the city.

The Board of Education appointed the following members to the Joint Board of Review: board members Rev. Dr. Curtis T. Walker Sr. (Board president), James Hardy and Jason Haas; Rhonda Porter, general counsel; and Paul Flesher, facility planning and capital improvements.

City Council appointed: Diane Miller-Dawson, finance director; Laraine Duncan, deputy mayor for intergovernmental relations; Marco Sommerville (Joint Board chairman), City Council president; Richard Merolla, service director; and Tina Merlitti, budget and finance committee chair.

The board voted unanimously to move forward with plans to buy the former SummaCare Health Plan building at 400 W. Market St. The building is used for temporary classroom space during the 15-year project. Students from 17 elementary schools will be bused to the building while their schools are rebuilt or renovated. About 900 students from two elementary schools can use the building at one time. Students from Glover and David Hill elementary schools are currently using the building.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Workforce Development Advisory Committee
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Workforce Development Advisory Committee develops and recommends plans to foster the involvement of local and disadvantaged businesses and workers in Akron CLCs.

The following members were appointed to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Workforce Development Advisory Committee: Rev. Curtis T. Walker Sr., board member; Lynne Black, operations manager of the Subcontractors Association of Northeast Ohio; Ray Borom, former director of affirmative action at Kent State University and Akron's first equal employment officer; and a yet-to-be-named representative from the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.

City Council appointed: Laraine Duncan, deputy mayor; Marco Sommerville, City Council president; Stephen Stock, assistant business manager and organizer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 306; and Glen Stephens, president of G. Stephens Inc., one of the construction management companies for the project.

Members have discussed training local young people to work on the 15-year project and what programs are already available to meet this goal. Under state law, school districts must award contracts for capital projects to the lowest bidder. But many larger urban districts have developed goals for how much work they would like to give to local, minority and female business owners.

The group also discussed a draft plan for how the city and school district can ensure that local and minority businesses get a fair share of the project's jobs. Among the goals approved by the group were that 25 percent of the jobs created by the construction project should go to city residents, Akron minorities merit 20 percent and women living in the city should get five percent. The proposal also suggested awarding 25 percent of the project's contracts and subcontracts to economically or socially disadvantaged businesses, modeled after the state EDGE (Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity) program.

Citizens Monitoring Committee
The city and the Board of Education appointed a 10-member Citizens Monitoring Committee (five members each) to monitor and report to the community regarding the expenditure of funds collected under the Community Learning Center Ordinance or received from the state for the project.

Appointed city members include: Edward Buehrle of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs; Connie Krauss, vice president of government affairs at the Greater Akron Chamber; David Moran, business manager/financial secretary at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 306; Joseph Siegferth, retired Hudson superintendent; and Pastor. Melford Elliott of the Greater Bethel Baptist Church.

Appointed Board of Education members include: Julie Ann Sweet-Buntin of U.S. Bank; Shirley Washington, Summit County Fiscal Office community relations; Allan Markey, retired from Bober, Markey & Fedorovich; Robert Hahn of Plasters & Cement Masons Local 109; and Michael Witwer of Metcalf & Eddy. Edward Bollinger of the Summit County Energy Task Force is the alternate.

• Voris Project Completion Review Report

Community Learning Center Advisory Board
The Community Learning Center Advisory Board consists of nine members, as follows: four members designated by the Board of Education to serve staggered two-year terms, each of whom may be reappointed; four members designated by the city to serve staggered two-year terms, each of whom may be reappointed; and a member at-large appointed by a majority vote of the members, to serve a two-year term and who may be reappointed. This board is in charge of such issues as approving a schedule of events prior to the start of each school year for the new community learning centers during off hours.

Appointed city members include: Lester Carney, retired from the Summit County Department of Jobs and Family Services; Holli Mallak, director of programs and scholarships at the Barberton Community Foundation; Greg Kalail, manager of the Akron Recreation Bureau; and Stephen Buschko, internal coordinator for community learning centers at the Akron Recreation Bureau. Melvin Blake, also with the Akron Recreation Bureau, is the alternate.

Appointed Board of Education members include: Teresa LeGrair, director of programs and member services at the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank; Sharon Connor, Project RISE and health and social services employee at Akron Public Schools; Margaret Payne of the Knight Foundation; and Tim Miller of the Insurance Service Agency Inc. Alternates are Daniel Hayes, retired APS employee; and Theresa Flannery of the Catholic Youth Organization.