After months of investigation into the embattled Akron Public Schools’ superintendent, a law firm hired by the school board concluded Michael Robinson behaved in an “unprofessional, toxic, demeaning, and hostile manner” since he was appointed to the helm of the school district in July 2023.
The 24-page report issued by the Brennan Manna Diamond (BMD) law firm and provided to school board members Monday detailed serious allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers, hostility and threats toward perceived and real critics, insults made against students, public records law violations, and other damning allegations.
The Akron Board of Education on Tuesday afternoon, in a 4-1 vote with two abstentions, placed Robinson on paid administrative leave — one day after it received the report.
The report portrays Robinson as paranoid and conspiratorial, believing he was divinely appointed to lead the district and that God punishes his critics. Robinson reportedly believes a former colleague got cancer for treating him poorly and said that he believed future generations of a school board member who was critical of him will be punished “if she doesn’t live long enough,” the report states.
“Complaints have accused Dr. Robinson of engaging in bullying, intimidating behavior and creating a hostile working environment by threatening to terminate and replace staff on a regular basis, yelling at employees both in public and in private, humiliating employees in front of colleagues, and admonishing employees for offering feedback or differing professional perspectives,” the law firm wrote. “BMD concludes these allegations are true.”
The investigation of Robinson’s alleged misconduct began when the Akron Board of Education hired the law firm late last year. The document, obtained by Signal Akron, details that investigators spent months reviewing documents and interviewing 16 current and former school district employees who are unnamed in the report out of concerns about harassment and retaliation. Investigators also interviewed Robinson, alongside his personal attorney.
The law firm said that Robinson violated district policy, state licensing rules and professional ethics guidelines and that his actions “subject him to discipline” by the school board. If Robinson were to stay on, the report states, the district will be exposed to more legal liability and an even larger exodus of talented and experienced staff.
Bullying, intimidating and hostile behavior from the superintendent
The report details that since Robinson took the superintendent’s role, he regularly threatened to fire administrators, leading to staffers “feeling that any misstep would result in termination… Almost every witness expressed to BMD their real fear of losing their job.”
Nearly every person the lawyers interviewed witnessed Robinson “verbally abusing” communications staffers, including an incident where he took colleagues out of a meeting and into a hallway “and berated them so loudly that people from two floors up came downstairs to see what was happening.”
Others detailed that Robinson would regularly yell at staffers with criticism about their work without being able to actually say what the problem was and that he would become furious when questioned.
Two employees reported that in December 2023 Robinson “declared that the names of staffers who had been ‘talking’ about him ‘would be revealed to him over winter break.’ The perception was that a high power would ‘reveal’ these names to Dr. Robinson. During this meeting, Dr. Robinson also asked the senior staff to apologize to Dr. Robinson for undisclosed wrongs they had allegedly committed against him.”
Retaliation, with ‘no avenue to seek relief’
Employees reported being too scared to report Robinson to Human Capital — what the district calls its human resources department — labor relations or the school board out of fear of more abuse or retaliation.
“APS employees simply feel like they have no avenue to seek relief and must accept Dr. Robinson’s abusive and hostile behavior to continue working at APS,” the report states.
Investigators detailed a disagreement between Robinson and Director of Facilities Steve Keenan late last year about a restructuring of the department that the director thought was unrealistic and burdensome for employees. When the director brought up the concern, Robinson chastised him in a meeting.
“After exhausting all his attempts to work with Dr. Robinson, and after being admonished in a closed-door meeting,” the facilities director wrote a letter to the school board president about workplace dynamics, staff treatment, and operational decisions in the department, the report said. APS whistleblowing policy dictates that this is the proper way to raise concerns about the superintendent.
The director’s email access was immediately revoked and Robinson quickly wrote a separate letter to the board, “strongly criticizing the Director’s competence” and calling the complaint “inappropriate.” After returning from leave, Robinson booted Keenan from his office and moved him to a cubicle. Robinson denied to investigators that he retaliated against Keenan, saying he “could have fired” him for sending the board the letter.
“Retaliation occurs when a person engages in protected activity and is punished for it,” the report concludes. “This is precisely what occurred in this circumstance, and Dr. Robinson is unable to see how his actions toward this employee are retaliatory.”
The report also accuses Robinson of retaliating against Carla Chapman, the head of the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion department, offering to demote her to a position three levels below her rank without board approval. Chapman was in a relationship with School Board member Gregory Harrison, who had been critical of Robinson and had just been in an elevator confrontation with Robinson’s hand-picked communications director, Stacey Hodoh.
The report does not name Keenan or Chapman, but the titles and episodes described in the report match reporting by Signal Akron.
“The timing of the notice in conjunction with the elevator incident and dueling complaints from the Board member and Dr. Hodoh is concerning, especially considering that the Chief was the only employee from the DEI Department [who] would effectively receive a demotion in job title and Responsibilities,” the report states. “Three witnesses have described Dr. Robinson’s demotion of the Chief as being retaliation for the Chief’s relationship with a Board member.”
Robinson told investigators that the district is “undergoing a restructuring process that will result in employees losing their jobs.” Staffers reported that Robinson was identifying soon-to-be fired employees without the input of department directors, targeting those critical of an employee named Darian Johnson, who was hired last year “as part time summer grounds help” before he was promoted to facilities supervisor within six months.
APS whistleblowing policy makes clear that employees who have a good-faith belief in reporting misconduct or other behavior that violates APS policy are protected from retaliation. Based on that, it is clear that employees who voice concerns are targeted for either termination or a complete restructuring of their position in contravention of APS’s whistleblowing policies, according to the report.
Threatening, intimidating and harassing behavior
The law firm “concluded that Dr. Robinson has engaged in threatening, intimidating, and harassing behavior toward the media, the Board, and even students.”
The investigation details the previously reported incident of Robinson calling a female Akron Beacon Journal reporter and a Signal Akron reporter “hos” for reporting stories deemed critical of him. Sexist language like that “is not only unprofessional, but it violates APS policy on anti-harassment,” the report says.
The report also details religious statements Robinson made that staff “found threatening and intimidating, including but not limited to: ‘I am ordained by God,’ ‘I am the great I am,’ and ‘I have divine discernment.’ Dr. Robinson himself acknowledged to the investigators that being the Superintendent is his ‘ministry’ and that he is ‘anointed.’”
In the context of his religious statement, multiple staffers reported, and Robinson confirmed, that Robinson said “his former supervisor got cancer because he treated Dr. Robinson poorly.”
Others reported that Robinson said “bad things happen” to people who “come for him,” and that he implied he is dangerous and connected to organized crime. In the report, Robinson “denied that he has ever stated or implied that he is dangerous, or that he has connections to organized crime, but agreed that he makes statements that people will get what they deserve.”
After school board member Rene Molenaur accused Robinson of unprofessional and bullying behavior, Robinson reportedly said, “I could just wring her neck” in addition to other threatening statements.
One employee reported Robinson said “she better watch out, she has kids.” Robinson said that he told Molenaur that if she “doesn’t live long enough” that her “children, and her children’s children” will “reap what [Molenaur] sows” because he felt Molenaur “spoke to him in a demeaning and condescending manner.”
Statements to and about APS students
Investigators “uncovered alarming allegations” about Robinson’s conduct toward students.
In one instance, outside an unnamed high school during the school day, Robinson spotted two students and told them to get back to class. He threatened to have them arrested when the students ignored him.
“While behavioral problems are not always easy to deal with, threatening police involvement or arrest should not be considered as a first option to resolve the problem and as described by witnesses appears to be an escalation of conflict,” the report states.
Robinson also admitted to describing the behavior of some students as “ghetto” and that he refers to some kids as “thugs” or implies they are criminals. Others witnessed Robinson call a female student a “heifer” – a young female cow.
Criticism of workplace culture and leadership style
“The overwhelming consensus across witnesses interviewed is that the workplace culture at Akron Public Schools’ central office is ‘toxic,’” the report says. “Other words used to describe the current culture under Dr. Robinson are: ‘horrible’, ‘as bad as it can be’, ‘hostile’, ‘bullying’, ‘intimidating’, ‘fear’, ‘demeaning.’”
Four interviewees cried when describing Robinson’s conduct.
“Witnesses overwhelmingly reported that Dr. Robinson cannot accept constructive feedback or differing perspectives, taking any perceived negative comment as a personal attack and undermining his authority as Superintendent.
“Dr. Robinson denies that his ‘direct’ communication and leadership style are offensive or problematic,” the report says. “However, it is clear that the workplace culture is suffering significantly because of Dr. Robinson’s behavior. Based on the witness interviews and evidence gathered, this culture of fear, intimidation, and hostility would not exist but for Dr. Robinson.”
The law firm wrote that if nothing is changed, the district will likely continue to lose more experienced staff members and that the district is open to liability from administrators who “may take legal action” because of Robinson.
Conclusion: Complaints against Robinson are valid, violate APS policies
The law firm believes he violated several district policies worthy of discipline, along with state licensing guidelines and national best practices.
It says Robinson violated the public records policy when he sent “confidential” emails. He violated the whistleblower policy when he revoked the email address of the department head who contacted the school board about him. He violated the anti-harassment policy when he insulted the female reporters and the female student, and he subjected staff to “pervasive bullying, beratement” and threats.
The report concludes:
There is a difference between having high expectations and holding employees accountable, and behaving in an unprofessional, toxic, demeaning, and hostile manner. A leader can be firm yet respectful. Dr. Robinson, however, has failed to be a firm, respectful leader. Instead, Dr. Robinson’s leadership creates a toxic and fearful working environment where employees are subject to pervasive ridicule, unjustified verbal abuse, and are under a constant threat of losing their jobs. There are examples of blatant retaliation that Dr. Robinson attempts to justify under the guise of restructuring. But the timing of protected activity with adverse employment action creates a strong presumption that Dr. Robinson is motivated by retaliatory purposes. Dr. Robinson shows a clear disrespect for other professionals, including the media, members of this Board, and to the students.
This investigation concludes that the complaints rendered against Dr. Robinson are valid, have merit, are corroborated, and that Dr. Robinson’s conduct violates APS policies which subjects him to discipline by the Board.