Two Akron elementary schools, both in the Kenmore cluster, are closing at the end of the school year.

Smith and Lawndale elementaries are the casualties of a dropping student population in Kenmore.

"Pfeiffer and Sam Salem have more room, so if you look at Smith with 109 students and Lawndale with 150 students, that's just not cost effective," said Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James.

The move is expected to save the district $1 million per year.

James says he's hoping to rebuild Pfeiffer in the next few years as part of the ongoing reconstruction project. That project, however, will not include state funding if it's being used to construct buildings that house fewer than 350 students.

Some students will be able to catch a ride to their new school.

"For Sam Salem, the majority of the students who would be in the old Lawndale district will get transported, and some of the students in the Smith boundary when it's absorbed into the Pfeiffer boundary will be transported as well," said James.

James says he anticipates no layoffs. Faculty and staff reductions will be completed through attrition.

Nothing changes until the school year ends, according to the plan approved Monday night by the Akron Board of Education. Meetings will be scheduled as early as January to provide further details and answer questions from families in the Kenmore cluster.