The internal race for president of the Akron Public Schools’ Board of Education is nearing, with two candidates announcing their bids publicly.
Board members Barbara Sykes and Carla Jackson, who is the outgoing vice president, are contenders for the position. Outgoing President Diana Autry on Thursday afternoon didn’t explicitly say whether she planned to run for reelection.
The election will be held at the next full board meeting on Jan. 13, and the winner will be decided by a roll-call vote among the members at the meeting.
The internal race for board president, which Autry said has rarely played out publicly, has heightened stakes given potential changes to state public education funding, as well as U.S. Department of Education reforms incoming President Donald Trump has promised.
Their candidacies also come amid an ongoing investigation into “personnel-related issues” involving Superintendent Michael Robinson and other administrators.
Sykes also wants to strengthen the district’s relationship with the Akron Education Association, the local teachers’ union. Jackson said she supports teachers, but works to “advocate for and fight for students.”
Both Sykes and Jackson spoke about the role as the public voice of the school board, and discussed improving relations with local media.
Sykes pushed to seek seat by state political environment
Sykes said she decided to run for board president after comments made by Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima). She said Huffman insinuated that reductions in state funding of public schools are looming, raising a “red flag” for her.
“We’re losing these funds [to vouchers],” Sykes told Signal Akron. “These are our tax dollars, and I want us to be more proactive and talk about this.”
Huffman is a longtime advocate for school vouchers, which divert money from public school districts and send taxpayer dollars to private schools. In 2024, Ohio spent nearly $1 billion on private school scholarship programs. Akron has more than 10,000 students enrolled in nonpublic schools, according to data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW).
“If you’re going to lead a public school system,” Sykes said, “then you have to be about the public school system.”
Jackson says her charter school employment a nonissue
Jackson, first elected to the board in 2021, is the head of the middle school and director of entrepreneurship for Emmanuel Christian Academy, a local private school.
“I don’t think it’s a conflict,” Jackson said about her administrative position at the private school.
In 2024, Emmanuel Christian Academy received nearly $250,000 in state dollars, according to data from the ODEW.
Jackson said her main priority as board president would be to strengthen ties between the district and local trade unions with the intent of providing additional career opportunities for students. Her overarching motivation for her presidency bid is to heighten the board’s focus on students and their success.
Jackson told Signal Akron as board president, she wouldn’t work to move money to charter schools, but she does believe parents should be able to do what’s best for their children’s education.
She also said as board president she wouldn’t micromanage district leadership.
“When you deflect and make issues more important than students,” Jackson said, “that’s a problem.”
Sykes has plans beyond voucher fight
Beyond the fight against vouchers, Sykes said she wants to strengthen the relationship between APS and the local business community.
Sykes, a vocal advocate for public agencies following policies and procedures, also wants to ensure the APS board and district follow policies and bylaws. Specifically, Sykes said she wants the board to attend quarterly update meetings with the superintendent and treasurer to “ensure administrative surprises are kept to a minimum.”
