The Akron Public Schools board will meet a second time in the same week to vote again on the contracts of 112 administrators.
The board voted 5-0 on May 27 to reject a series of one- and two-year contracts for deans, principals, coordinators, assistant principals and upper-level administrators — up to and including the district’s assistant superintendent.
But the board will come back May 30 at 5:30 p.m., a Friday evening, to vote on the same item again. A meeting notice was issued to the media the afternoon of May 28. According to the meeting notice, the purpose of the special-called meeting is to “consider the renewal/reappointment and/or nonrenewal of administrative personnel for the 2025-2026 school year and to take potential action, in open session on the renewal/reappointment and/or nonrenewal of administrative personnel.”
The Akron Public Schools Sylvester Small Administration Building.
Board President Carla Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the meeting notice was issued.
But Jackson told media after the May 27 board meeting that she voted against the contract renewals because she believed there should be more cuts that affect administrators. She also said she believed the contracts would automatically renew on June 1, so no one would be harmed, and it would give the district time to come up with a plan for the following year to make more cuts.
But the June 1 automatic contract renewal only happens if a board does nothing with an employee’s contract. If the board votes down a contract, it is officially rejected, unless the board comes back and takes another vote to approve the contracts. Otherwise, an employee not renewed for cause could just have their contract automatically renewed every June 1.
The board’s own policies also state that if an employee’s contract will not be renewed, they are to be provided notice and a chance for a meeting and a hearing in front of the board. There was no evidence that had taken place for the 112 employees on the list.
It’s not clear how many board members had the same misunderstanding about what a “no” vote on the contracts would mean. Only a few explained their votes.
Board member Barbara Sykes abstained from the vote because one of her family members was on the list of administrators up for a renewal. Board Vice President Bruce Alexander was absent.
Board member Diana Autry made the motion to approve the list of contracts and it was seconded by Summer Hall, but both ultimately voted against the approvals.
Board member Rene Molenaur said as the board is looking at staffing and finances overall, including votes earlier in the meeting to make cuts that affect the classroom, she was concerned “these are all admin positions.”
Board member Rev. Greg Harrison also noted that the contracts all involved administrative jobs.
“I really just think we need to be looking at these positions,” he said. “As many cuts as we make that touch our frontline students, we need to make on the backend.”
No other board members made comments during the meeting.
Akron school board approves a portion of recommended cuts, number of layoffs unclear
Earlier in the meeting, the board split again on the layoffs of different groups of staff. They voted to approve some, but not all, of what the administration had asked for. The elimination of the chief of staff position, currently held by Angela Carter, was approved. Carter is also currently serving as the interim head of human resources.
The administration had presented about $10.2 million worth of cuts, with personnel accounting for about half of that total. With the board only approving some of the cuts, it wasn’t clear how much money the district will actually be saving, or how many people will in the end be laid off. One person was removed from the cut list just before the vote.
Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: APS to vote again after not renewing contracts of 112 administrators