A former Akron Public Schools employee is seeking $10 million in damages for alleged discrimination and retaliation after he was terminated from the district earlier this year.
Darian Johnson, a former custodial supervisor, was fired by the Akron Board of Education May 26 after he reportedly entered the district administration building after hours and removed papers from his supervisor’s desk in November 2025.
On Aug. 12, he filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging discrimination, intimidation, retaliation and defamation. The claims surround the district’s investigation into a Nov. 4, 2025, incident in which Johnson entered 10 N. Main St. after hours and later disobeyed orders to return school property after he was placed on administrative leave.
The district did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Lawsuit alleges discrimination, impropriety
Johnson was hired by APS in 2024 as part-time summer help and promoted to facilities supervisor shortly thereafter by former Superintendent Michael Robsinson. At the time of the 2025 incident, Johnson was a daytime facility services supervisor with access to all district buildings, classrooms and offices. He reported to Debra Foulk, executive director of business affairs.
On Nov. 4, 2025, Johnson reportedly entered the administration building at 9:41 p.m., took the elevator to the fifth floor and spent time in a conference room before entering Foulk’s office.
He told nighttime custodial staff who saw him in Foulk’s office that he was looking for a folder and lost keys. Video footage showed Johnson left the building with papers he did not enter with and, the next morning, Foulk reported there were meeting minutes missing from her desk, according to a referee’s report submitted to the Akron Board of Education ahead of its vote to terminate Johnson.
In his lawsuit, Johnson alleges senior female staff members told him he was “too young” and inexperienced to hold a supervisory position and, as a result, subject to a “hostile and intimidating work environment” based on his age, race and sex.
In January, the Akron Board of Education passed a resolution to consider terminating Johnson’s contract. Johnson took the unusual step of demanding a public disciplinary hearing before an appointed referee.
Johnson alleged that the third-party referee had lunch with two of the Akron Board of Education’s attorneys and the district’s director of human resources, which “gave rise to possible ex parte communications and gave a clear appearance of impropriety.”
Beyond the monetary judgment, Johnson’s lawsuit demands he be reinstated to his position, with back pay, and other punitive damages against the district.
