Leverage community partnerships across Akron. Remove barriers tied to public access of community learning centers. Think students first.
Six residents vying to obtain or retain roles with the Akron Board of Education shared these thoughts — and plenty of others — Tuesday morning at the first school board candidate forum leading into November’s election.
This event, held at the Akron branch of the American Red Cross, was hosted by Youth Success Summit and the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area.
Four public school board seats are up for reelection in Akron — with eight candidates vying for the spots. Of those candidates, three are running for reelection: Diana Autry (not present at Tuesday’s event), Gregory Harrison and Carla Jackson. Other candidates on the ballot are Cynthia D. Blake, Gwendolyn Bryant, Nathan R. Jarosz, Karmaya Kelly (not present) and Phil Montgomery.
Akron Public Schools’ annual budget exceeds $500 million, with a large share of that budget going to personnel and operation costs.
Questions during the hour-long forum ranged from candidates explaining what strengths they would bring to the school board to how they would meet the needs of students, teachers and administrators. Each candidate gave opening and closing statements and answered questions within a time frame of one minute. The following are the highlights from each candidate. (The full forum can be watched here.)
If we were a room full of students, what would you say to them as far as how you will represent and advocate for them?
Carla Jackson, the current school board president, spoke as though she were responding to students.
“I am your voice. I care about what impacts you. We are only here because you exist,” said Jackson.
Gregory Harrison responded as though he were talking to his sons.
“You’re not gonna like everything that I do, you’re not gonna like everything that I say,” Harrison said. “But I am making the best decision that I can for you.”
Harrison and Nathan Jarosz suggested advocating for more student engagement, encouraging student input about decisions that impact their learning environments and promoting accessibility while increasing transparency.
How are you involved with Akron Public Schools, and why do you want to serve on the school board?
All candidates enjoy multiple years of experience working with Akron Public Schools’ students and faculty through non-profit work or volunteerism. Jarosz said he has touched many lives through his experiences in substitute teaching and other leadership work.
“I want to serve on the school board because I believe that every student deserves a quality education and every parent deserves to be proud of their district,” said Jarosz, founder and CEO of Leadership Influencing Teen Empowerment.
Phil Montgomery said he has vast experience with making community decisions and dealing with budgets. He also brings a financial background to his campaign.
“I hope to be able to bring that to the table, being a resource, not only on financial acumen, but community connections,” said Montgomery, who serves as director of Finance and Budget for Summit County.
What will you do to help bring the school board together as a unified group focused on children — rather than a divided board?
If elected, Cynthia D. Blake said she will advocate to remove “School Reflections” from school board meetings to stay focused on other issues.
“I would just try to hold the school board accountable for whatever decisions we make,” Blake said, “and be respectful of my other board members.”
Gwendolyn Bryant agreed that board members should focus on school vision, students and families as well as strategic plans. However, she added nothing will work without leadership, which she hopes to bring to the table.
“The reason we’ve had these different superintendents is because there’s a leadership issue, and we need to start there to fix that,” Bryant said.