Akron Public Schools to return estimated $800K to state after Beacon Journal finds error

Akron Public Schools will give back money it erroneously received as part of a state program to fund districts' adoption of new reading materials .

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce said on Friday the district will return the money, which will be redistributed to districts around the state. The error was discovered by a Beacon Journal investigation published last week.

"The Department is working closely with Akron Public Schools on the matter," a statement from the state Department of Education said. "The district will return the funds to the state."

The state did not give a specific dollar amount that would be returned and redistributed, but the Beacon Journal investigation showed the district received about $800,000 more than it should have.

It's not clear if the state asked for the money back or if the district offered it voluntarily. Akron did not return a request for comment Friday afternoon.

The money stemmed from state funding that was set aside for school districts that didn't already have a curriculum based in the science of reading to buy one from a list of approved programs. All districts and charter schools received at least some funding, but the amount was determined based on answers districts provided on a survey about their existing reading programs.

Akron leaders said an oversight caused an administrator to leave off Akron's biggest K-5 reading curriculum, Wonders 2023, a state-approved science of reading program. That led the state to classify Akron as "not aligned" with the science of reading, and to award the district over $1 million to buy a new program.

While it was not clear at the time the state issued the survey that the information would be later used to determine funding levels, the state later asked districts to review their allocations based on their survey answers to check for inaccuracies. Akron did not report any issues, the state previously confirmed.

The department said it would redistribute funds to the other districts and qualifying schools across Ohio based on the existing funding formula that was used to determine allocations in the spring for the $64 million set aside for the program. Akron was one of only two districts to receive over $1 million of that money.

Many districts, including ones in Summit County, reported to the Beacon Journal that they did not receive enough funds to cover the new programs the state was requiring them to buy.

Aaron Churchill, Ohio research director for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which has monitored the implementation of the science of reading curriculum mandate, said it was the right thing for the money to be reallocated to other districts that need it more.

"Hopefully those dollars can be put to good use," he said.

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Public Schools to return estimated $800K to state after Beacon Journal finds error