AKRON, Ohio - Akron Public Schools could save as much as $1.3 million dollars a year when it consolidates its administration team into the former SummaCare building next year.

SummaCare will move its corporate offices to Akron's East End neighborhood in March into the space that formerly housed the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company headquarters.

At its last meeting, the Akron School Board approved the $9.1 million purchase of the building at Ten North Main, on the corner of W. Market and N. Main streets in downtown Akron. The board also approved the issuance of $10 million in bonds.

The deal, expected to close by April 1, will cost taxpayers nothing. A state process will allow the school district to borrow without using its general fund and pay the full amount in seven to 10 years. Superintendent David W. James has said savings from the consolidation will result in at least $200,000 of additional money going back into classrooms each year.

Roughly 300 staffers now work out of the Conrad C. Ott Building off S. Main Street in Firestone Park and the Sylvester Small Administration Building on North Broadway downtown.

The two old buildings combined are about 200 years old and need millions of dollars of repairs, said Akron Public Schools spokesman Mark Williamson. The new building offers more usable space.

"It was selected because it doesn't need a lot of work, and compared to this building it's brand new," he said of the Sylvester Small site, which was built in 1918. Designed to house disabled children, its halls and doorways are exceptionally wide and its ceilings high, taking up unnecessary space.

In addition to higher utility costs, the older buildings pose challenges in terms of effectively using digital technology. And having two sites across town from one another wastes time and costs money, as employees must regularly drive a six-mile round trip through town for meetings, he said.

"The increasing demands of these older buildings are tough," Williamson said. "We've spent a lot of money we won't have to spend there. This was definitely the responsible choice for us to make."

On the upside, the city's Downtown Akron Vison & Redevelopment plan to revitalize downtown is under way, targeting five main areas for redevelopment and enhancements. The Sylvester Small Administration Building is adjacent to two of those areas -- the Northside Arts District and Route 59, which offers 20 developable acres.

The old building not only offers hundreds of valuable surface parking spaces, it also has a beautiful view looking north over Cascade Valley, he said.

"Somebody really imaginative can make this into a really cool condo development," Williamson said. "We're giving whomever we work with two beautiful turn-of-the-last-century buildings that have been given a lot of TLC."

The school district's goal is to be moved into the new site before school begins next August.

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