As Election Day approaches, here are the eight candidates running for the Akron Board of Education

The eight candidates vying for three spots on the Akron board of education will have to contend with a new superintendent, a likely call for an operating levy next year, questions about the future of North High School and other issues that stem from the aftermath of schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.

With one current board member, one former board member and six new candidates in contention, there’s a guarantee that the board will have new voices and new views.

In alphabetical order, here are the candidates:

Patrick Bravo

Patrick Bravo is a former Akron Board of Education president who spent a decade on the school board before deciding not to seek reelection in 2021. The executive director of the Summit County Land Bank, Bravo prioritizes improving relationships with the community, academic achievement and district finances.

He said no one should have to leave the school district in search of a better education and thinks there must be community solutions to youth violence. Public education, he said, should help provide a level playing field for every student in the district. Bravo said he thinks true inclusion is the inclusion of diverse thoughts in curriculum.

Gwen Bryant

Gwen Bryant is a former elementary school teacher who now works as an instructional and leadership coach for schools. She thinks board members should serve as advisors to the superintendent, sharing the views of students and the community. 

Bryant’s priorities include improving disparities in educational opportunities, increasing parent and community involvement in the schools, and hiring and retaining more teachers. She thinks students need more education in social-emotional skills coming out of the coronavirus pandemic and said schools need to teach students to think critically.

Bryant said the district needs to be proactive about improving safety. She thinks parents should have a say in what is taught, but she doesn’t think the loudest voices should control curriculum decisions.

Summer Hall

Summer Hall is a community outreach coordinator for the City of Akron. She thinks creating a safe environment that’s conducive to learning, ensuring students are at or above grade level, and providing fair funding are paramount. Hall’s children left Akron Public Schools because their needs weren’t being met, she said – she’s running for the board because she wants to be an advocate for children.

Hall said she thinks the community should be more involved in the schools; she also said a good school system will bring businesses to the community. Hall thinks parents should be listened to and feels as though their voices are heard when they have concerns about instruction. She thinks every child and teacher deserves to feel safe in school.

Myron Lewis

Myron Lewis is a retired probation officer and substance abuse counselor who’s running for office because he wants to address the root causes of issues that lead children to disengage in education. Proactive responses to violence and school safety are among his priorities.

Lewis wants to ensure students can read by third grade and said teachers need more respect in the district. He wants Akron Public Schools to treat every student as if they have a bright future and said he thinks a needs assessment is necessary to determine if changes should be made to the district’s curriculum.

He also thinks the board needs to work to improve the perception of APS. He thinks parents should participate in education but should not control it.

Keith Mills

Keith Mills, an intervention specialist in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District who was a student teacher in Akron, said he’s running for office because he understands what needs to be fixed. Mills thinks school safety, achievement gaps and a lack of professional development are the biggest issues in education today, and he thinks more common ground needs to be found on controversial topics in education, including through better communication.

He also thinks there should be more communication between the board and the community.

Mills, whose children go to Catholic school, said he thinks the district’s response to violence should be proactive. He’s a proponent of hands-on, holistic teaching and said a needs assessment can clarify what can be done to improve academic results.

Rene Molenaur

Rene Molenaur, a senior instructional designer at the University of Akron, is the only current member of the board. She’s running to retain a seat she was appointed to earlier this year. Molenaur said she’s focused on creating safe learning environments to help recruit and retain teachers, as well as better allocating district resources and ensuring education equity.

She’s currently involved in updating APS policies to meet legal requirements. Molenaur said more peer mediation and an increased use of technology can help with school violence; she was the only candidate who said she would consider arming teachers, though she said that, as a parent, it would make her incredibly uncomfortable.

Molenaur also said she’s in favor of helping school employees become licensed teachers to help with a teacher shortage in the district. She said she opposes legislative limits on what students can learn and thinks multiple points of view are necessary for learning.

Phil Montgomery

Phil Montgomery, the director of Budget and Finance for Summit County, said his background with large budgets will be an asset for the board. He said the board needs operational expertise, not just educators, and he’s interested in improved safety and academic achievement in the district, in addition to ensuring long-term financial stability.

Montgomery said safety discussions should include wraparound services for students; he favors asking teachers about resources they need to feel safe. He said there’s a need for more family and community involvement in the district. He wants to encourage students to advocate for themselves and said he’s concerned about continued attacks on public education, which he said is intended to provide equal opportunities for all students.

He thinks parents should be able to talk to teachers about their concerns but shouldn’t be able to ban books or censor educational topics.

Barbara Sykes

Barbara Sykes is the president and CEO of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation and previously held elected office at the city and state levels, as a council member and representative.

She thinks there’s a need for more parent involvement in schools and said the district should devote more resources to improving attendance and achievement, including by helping students dealing with homelessness, food insecurity or other issues.

She sees school violence as a community problem and said she thinks the board as a whole needs to come together to find solutions. Sykes is in favor of raising teacher pay and thinks board members should do a better job of going into the community, not just schools, and improving communication with parents and business leaders. She wants improved early childhood education and said she thinks curricula should be inclusive, regardless of parental concerns.

Editor’s note: Information in these profiles came from two candidate forums and responses submitted by the candidates to the Akron Area League of Women Voters.