Akron Public Schools spokesperson Stacey Hodoh has sued the district for alleged retaliation, harassment and bullying.
Hodoh’s lawsuit, filed in federal court on Nov. 12, alleges she was not paid for additional work performed while serving as the interim IT director and that she was targeted for defending prior custodial supervisor Darian Johnson, among other issues. She is representing herself in court.
Hodoh was placed on paid administrative leave May 8. The leave notice was regarding investigations into “concerns received by the district regarding statements, communications and other escalating conduct occurring over the past several months, and/or other possible violations of board policy, administrative guidelines and job responsibilities.”
She is demanding a jury trial, back pay, additional pay if reinstatement is impractical and other compensatory damages.
At the time of her court filing, Hodoh remained on administrative leave.
The district declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Hodoh also declined to comment beyond her legal filing.
Hodoh reportedly told to ‘stay in her place’ by board member
Hodoh’s lawsuit lists complaints dating back to 2024, starting when she and Akron Board of Education member Gregory Harrison were at odds days after her hiring.
The complaint, filed Dec. 19, 2024, with then-Board President Diana Autry, alleged that Harrison attempted to intimidate her in an elevator while other board members were present. According to board members, they did not recognize Hodoh and questioned who she was, as access to the executive levels of APS headquarters is restricted.
During the exchange, Hodoh allegedly said Harrison would “find himself on a poster messing around with [her].” There were posters placed around Akron at the time calling then-Superintendent Michael Robinson a bully.
In her filing, Hodoh stated Harrison told her to “stay in her place” and was menacing and physically threatening. She alleged that complaints by white men were handled differently than hers was and that, on Dec. 26, 2024, she filed charges of discrimination based on her race and sex and harassment and retaliation with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Both Hodoh and Harrison are Black.
After that filing, she stated, Board of Education members continued to target her by interfering in her job and demanding “supervisory action” against her.
Spokesperson claims she was not paid for interim IT role
Hodoh also claims she served in two executive roles while only being paid for one, while white men within the district were awarded supplemental pay for working beyond their designated roles.
Her examples, from 2024, include Steven Keenan, who was allegedly paid more than $9,000 in supplemental wages for 11 weeks of work as interim director of facility services; and Thomas Bruno, general manager of the Summit FM radio station, who was given overtime pay for work outside his regular hours. APS holds the radio station’s license, but it is financially independent from the district.
Keenan resigned in September 2025 amid an investigation into the trade-in and private sale of district-owned lawn mowers. He filed a lawsuit in July demanding reinstatement.
According to Hodoh’s filing, she served as the interim head of the district’s IT department from February to December 2025 but was denied additional pay for the added work.
She also said she believes that she has been blamed for a cyber attack that occurred six months after she was no longer interim head of the department.
Testimony in custodial supervisor’s defense triggered retaliation
Hodoh testified on March 27, 2026 in defense of Darian Johnson, a custodial supervisor who filed an administrative appeal in Summit County Common Pleas Court in an effort to overturn his termination after he reportedly entered the district administration building after hours and removed papers from his supervisor’s desk in November 2025.
Her testimony included that she had seen Johnson’s supervisor, Executive Director of Business Affairs Debra Foulk, yell at him and that his hostile-work-environment complaints were substantiated by an outside investigator in May 2025.
Johnson has since filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging discrimination, intimidation, retaliation and defamation.
Hodoh believes her testimony in Johnson’s support caused retaliation against her.
Administrative leave sparked by conversations with staff
According to Hodoh’s filing, two conversations led to her administrative leave, one with Angela Carter, APS’ executive director of school leadership, and another with Foulk, both in early April.
Hodoh alleges that Carter told Superintendent Mary Outley about a conversation they had regarding a disability accommodation concern Carter had expressed for one of Carter’s relatives. Hodoh stated she had raised concerns with Foulk.
In her conversation with Foulk, Hodoh allegedly told the business affairs director that the water damage at Pfeiffer Elementary and Essex CLC was not due to heavy rain but to delayed roof repairs — and she planned to tell the Board of Education that if Foulk would not.
A third-party investigator hired by the district ruled against Hodoh in July.
Hodoh’s history with the district
Hodoh was hired in December 2024 at an annual salary of $143,216 to head APS’ communications department. She replaced Mark Williamson, who had served in the role for more than a decade.
Her contract was automatically renewed in 2025 and 2026 (while she was on administrative leave). It now expires in June 2027.
Prior to her current role, Hodoh worked as a worksite supervisor and high school basketball coach in the early 1990s before moving outside of Akron to work in managerial and logistical roles at several companies including Walmart and Google.
She graduated from Buchtel High School in 1985.
