The Akron Board of Education on Monday night voted to repeal all of its policies and definitions related to diversity, equity and inclusion in order to comply with federal guidance — despite several board members championing fair opportunities and welcoming environments.
A resurrection by Rene Molenaur of the board Equity Committee’s line-by-line audit and rewriting of the district’s DEI policies — a process which took 10 hours across multiple meetings — was passionately debated Monday by members, but the full board did not adopt the replacement policy.
While Akron schools should now be in compliance with the Trump administration’s guidance, board member Barbara Sykes wonders what will happen to the needs of Akron’s diverse student population.
“It wasn’t about whether this district was Black or brown, it was about treating everyone fairly,” Sykes said. “Now we have some language coming from the national level and our Statehouse saying you can’t use the words ‘DEI.’ OK, so let’s not use DEI.”
Board member Diana Autry voted in favor of the repeal of the racial equity policy “because a philosophical ‘no’ is not producing $85 million for us.”
Last year, APS received $85 million from the federal government, which mostly supports special education, early childhood education, school nutrition, English as a Second Language, driver’s education and after-school programs.
“I resent that we are being placed in a position to have to choose between such an important issue, because if we didn’t have inequities in the first place it would have never been a need to have these committees, these definitions, these policies,” Autry said.
The motions to repeal the district’s equity policy, the working definition of DEI and excellence in education and the racial equity policy, were all approved by 3-2 votes with two abstentions. The motion to end the district’s equity committee was also passed by a vote of 3-2 with two abstentions.
“The work to serve all children is still there for us to do,” Autry said about the district’s DEI efforts. “All means all, so now we have an opportunity to really mean that moving forward.”
Rewritten DEI policies never come out of board committee
Sykes bristled about the committee’s lack of action following Monday’s votes to repeal the district’s DEI policies and practices.
Previously, several members of the board went line by line to rewrite the district’s DEI policies to comply with shifting federal guidance. The work seemingly found a middle ground between the Trump administration’s mandate and the district’s desire to meet the needs of all students, but after moving through the Equity Committee, no action was taken in the Legal, Contracts and Board Policy Committee.
“We’ve heard nothing from you,” she said of the Legal, Contracts and Board Policy Committee. “So all we’re asking you to say is to still have policies within the school district that say, ‘We all belong here, that we all deserve to succeed, that we all deserve the very best we can get.’ And not like it is not happening. You don’t have to say DEI.”
Molenaur motioned to suspend the rules that would require three readings and pass the revised DEI policy as it was presented to the legal policy committee.
The motion was voted down 3-2, with two abstentions.
Board Vice President Bruce Alexander, who abstained from voting on the issues due to a conflict of interest, chairs the Legal, Contracts and Board Policy Committee.
Harrison asks board to place Robinson on paid administrative leave
Board member Gregory Harrison on Monday night publicly asked his fellow board members to place Superintendent Michael Robinson on administrative leave. His motion took place the same day board members were able to view a draft of an investigative report into the conduct of Robinson and other unnamed administrators.
Harrison’s motion was met with hesitation by board members Carla Jackson, Summer Hall and Alexander. Several minutes into the discussion, Sykes suggested the resolution to place Robinson on administrative leave needed time. Harrison relented and withdrew his motion.
The moment marked the first time the board publicly discussed whether to place Robinson leave. For months, during the investigation, the board did not elect to place Robinson on leave.
Special meeting planned for Tuesday, April 15
The board has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to enter executive session “to consider the employment, dismissal, and discipline of a public employee(s) and/or official(s),” according to the meeting notice. At the conclusion of Monday’s meeting, Jackson confirmed that the findings of the investigative report would be considered during the special session and that the board would consider recommendations on “a path ahead.”
Harrison’s motion follows a months-long investigation into Robinson’s conduct by law firm Brennan Manna Diamond. A second firm, Bricker Graydon, was expected to supply the board with recommendations for possible ways to take action related to the report’s findings. Options, according to several board members, are expected to include termination, a structured buyout, suspension or executive coaching.
The board does not have to follow the report’s suggestions.
Budget reduction plan, including layoffs, awaits a vote
The Board of Education had another lengthy discussion on roughly $14 million in cuts the board previously asked the administration to make following the passage of the levy last November.
Again, several board members requested additional details about proposed cuts from Chief of Staff Angela Carter and Director of Facilities Services Steve Keenan, who made the presentation to the board.
The back and forth Monday evening continued a conflict between the board and district administrators, with Sykes, Molenaur and Harrison asking for additional details that were not previously shared with the board to go through the Finance Committee before the cuts are proposed to the entire board for a vote.
Carter and Keenan presented a plan to cut about $10.2 million from the district’s budget. Their plan would cut about $5.7 million from personnel spending through combined layoffs and attrition of open positions. They also proposed cutting about $4.5 million through “operational efficiencies,” most of which would be one-time cuts for the 2025/2026 school year.
“Last year, the majority of our reductions came from just personnel,” Carter said during the presentation. “This year, we’re looking at restructuring our organizational design and staffing.”
Their budget reduction plan, which was not voted on Monday night, fell short of board member Molenaur’s expectations. The entire presentation was “inappropriate,” she said.
“I think the finance committee made it explicitly clear that we expected detailed financial information, not a theoretical presentation regarding the reorganization plan,” Molenaur said.
Her push for details was supported by members Sykes and Harrison, both of whom have long joined with Molenaur in asking for more transparency from the administration regarding budget cuts. The board voted 6-1 in favor of sending the information to the finance committee before it is voted on by the full board.
The board also discussed the administration’s proposal to hire two school psychologists after serving four current psychologists with reduction-in-force notices, an action that provoked an unfair labor practice lawsuit by the Akron Education Association, the teachers’ union.
Earlier in the meeting during public comment, several audience members spoke out about the administration’s plan to cut the school psychologists and job training coordinators. Harrison asked the administration if the plan to cut four positions and hire two new school psychologists at a lower rate constitutes union busting.
Board votes down contract with Akron Police Department
The board also deliberated on a contract between the district and the Akron Police Department to supply school resource officers to district schools. The contract, which was voted down, would not have preserved the authority of the building or district administrators to remove officers from the schools if an issue arises.
“Given the current state of what I see in my city, I just don’t feel it’s compatible with our school system and our children,” Autry said during the conversation Monday night.
“However, that being said, there is a need to have this in our buildings.”
Autry, despite her points about the state of policing in Akron, voted for the motion. Board members Alexander, Sykes, Harrison and Molenaur all voted the contract down.
Going forward, it’s unclear which department, if any, will handle the police security inside Akron’s public schools.
