Akron Public Schools Superintendent Mary Outley is undergoing her first full school year evaluation, with board members assessing progress on goals that include improving early literacy and keeping the budget in check.
The Akron Board of Education on July 1 held a special meeting to start the process of updating Outley and Treasurer Wayne Bowers’ evaluations to reflect their performance during the latter half of the 2025-26 school year.
Board members evaluated both administrators in late February as part of a midyear assessment that was not part of either’s permanent record. That review, led by Steve Farnsworth, a consultant with Leadership and Learning LLC, showed that board members were pleased with Outley and Bowers.
The district paid Leadership and Learning LLC $6,000 to facilitate the process for the year — including sitting in on those midyear meetings to establish goals and objectives, said school board president Barbara Sykes.
Both administrators’ contracts run through July 31, 2028, and require annual performance evaluations.
Sykes said she did not want to rush the review process and anticipates it will take most of July before a final, full-year evaluation is available for Outley and Bowers.
Much like the midyear assessment process, Sykes said each administrator will hold separate meetings with the board, including discussions surrounding any additional goals or updates to prior benchmarks from the second half of the 2025-26 school year.
“The facilitator will be there and will write up everything that was stated and will send back a new report as he heard it,” Sykes said. “We will review that, look at any changes, additions, subtractions and share that with the treasurer and superintendent. They will have an opportunity to look at the draft from the facilitator and make any comments they may have.”
The February session marked the first time Outley and school board members formally discussed expectations for Akron schools’ top administrator, as Outley was suddenly named superintendent in April 2025 without a formal interview.
Midyear evaluation outlined goals for rest of school year
Outley’s midyear evaluation was a break from the three-page, 517-word assessment of her predecessor, Michael Robinson. In it, Outley’s comments were included alongside analysis from school board members.
In her midyear evaluation — a 26-page document — Outley and board members identified three major goals for the 2025-26 school year:
- Increase the number of third-graders passing state reading tests by 4 percent.
- Reduce the district’s operating budget by $11 million.
- Monitor progress of the district’s construction projects at Buchtel and Ellet community learning centers, Miller-South/Pfeiffer and North High School.
According to the most recent state report card, fewer than half of third-graders in Akron Public Schools read at a proficient level — in part, making early literacy one of Outley’s priorities. Testing data for the 2025-26 school year is not publicly available yet.
Akron Board of Education members approved $11 million in cuts for the 2026-27 school year, including reductions in force and limiting outside vendor contracts. Employees impacted by those reductions in force have since filled other openings.
The $11 million reduction will not be the only set of cuts. According to its most recent budget forecast, the school district faces a $37 million budget deficit by 2028-29 — and will be spending against its cash reserves each year before that.
District finances better than initial projections
In a budget update earlier this month, Bowers, the school district’s treasurer, noted Akron schools’ expenses were lower than projected — giving it about $1.7 million more in cash reserves than anticipated. Its revenue was also about $3.3 million more than forecast due to an increase in property tax collection rates.
Bowers’ mid-year evaluation outlined several annual objectives, including facilitating a performance audit by the Auditor of State and working with the board’s Finance and Legal and Contracts committees to review policies surrounding financial systems, public records and records retention.
