Eight candidates are vying for three open Akron Public Schools Board of Education seats in November, only one of whom is an incumbent.
The slate of candidates includes former Ohio Rep. Barbara Sykes (D-Akron), the board’s former president Patrick Bravo (from 2012 to 2021), and incumbent Rene Molenaur, who was appointed to an open seat in April.
The other candidates are: Gwen Bryant, an instructional coach; Summer L. Hall, a community outreach liaison for the city of Akron; Keith Mills, an intervention specialist at Cleveland Metropolitan School District and a candidate in the 2023 Democratic primary for Akron mayor; Phil Montgomery, director of finance and budget at Summit County; and Myron J. Lewis, a retired chemical dependency counselor.
The eight candidates will appear at a candidate forum at Quaker Station in Akron on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at noon, hosted by the Akron Press Club and the Akron Beacon Journal, to answer questions from local journalists. The debate will be broadcast on the Sound of Ideas on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m.
Sykes on her campaign website notes the value of education, especially the role it played in her success. She was the first Black woman to be an Akron City Council member, was a three-term state representative, and is currently president and CEO of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.
Bravo on his website said he will be an advocate for students and ensure “every child has an opportunity to succeed” at Akron Public Schools. He’s currently executive director of the Summit County Land Bank. He did not seek reelection in 2021 after some division among the new and sitting board members on who should be the president and vice president, although at the time he told the Akron Beacon Journal that the issue didn’t relate to his decision not to run again.
Molenaur is an instructional coach at the University of Akron, and is a former Akron Public Schools student herself and a former middle school teacher. She has two children in the district currently. On her website she said she will seek to “amplify student successes,” ensure safe learning centers and promote community engagement if re-elected.
Bryant, herself an instructional coach at a national consultancy called Learning Sciences International, said she started her career in education as a teacher at Akron Public Schools 30 years ago. On her website she touted her experience as an educator and said she wanted to ensure students are equipped with skills they need to be “productive citizens.”
Hall, who is listed as the city’s public art liaison on the city of Akron’s website, has taken on many projects around art and community engagement in the city. Her bio on the city’s website notes she never shies away from advocating “on behalf of the marginalized in our community.”
Mills, an Akron Public Schools graduate, worked at the school district as a custodian and student teacher while getting his degree and also worked as a substitute teacher at various schools in northeast Ohio. He lists better training for leadership and “better family support” as goals on his website. He also ran unsuccessfully for Akron mayor during the most recent primary.
Montgomery has two daughters who attend Akron Public Schools. He’s board president of Akron Children’s Museum and has served on a number of other boards of local initiatives and causes, and was also an appointed Akron City Council member from April 2011 to December 2011. On his website he said his background in finance will make him a “valuable addition” to the APS board.
Lewis, a 1981 Buchtel High School graduate, had a 30-year career as a licensed chemical dependency counselor, dedicated to “helping young people improve their lives,” according to his biography from a recent Board of Education candidate forum.
Current Akron Board of Education President Derrick Hall will not be running for re-election, nor will board member Valerie McKitrick. They started their tenures in 2020 and saw the school district through the pandemic and the hiring of two superintendents. The current board has been criticized for their treatment of former Superintendent Christine Fowler-Mack, who left the district after roughly a year and a half on the job.
