Akron Public Schools' facilities services director said Wednesday he has resigned from the district after the board of education voted this week to pursue firing him.
Steven Keenan also provided a copy of a statement he gave the district defending himself against allegations he profited from buying and selling district-owned lawnmowers. In it, he alleges the district is retaliating against him for speaking out about the former superintendent and board of education.
Keenan is accused of trading in 11 district lawnmowers to a vendor, buying seven of those lawnmowers back at a discounted price, then selling the mowers on his personal account on Facebook marketplace to earn almost $10,000 in profit.
Keenan called the actions against him "disproportionate and selectively-enforced," according to the statement. He said the district's trade-in list of equipment was compiled by other employees and approved by APS' office of business affairs.
"I purchased seven mowers at (the vendor's) standard 'employee and family discount,' which has been extended to other APS employees," Keenan wrote. "I paid with personal funds and did not direct delivery from APS property."
The district's investigation into Keenan involved interviews with two other district employees who said they had bought lawn mowers the district had traded into the vendor. Records reviewed in the investigation also show Keenan was involved with approving the trade-in of the mowers he bought. The investigator also alleged Keenan was initially "evasive" when asked if he had sold the mowers on Facebook. At varying points in the investigation, Keenan said he had deleted his Facebook account and had potentially been hacked.
"Keenan was dishonest and evasive during his interview regarding his involvement in the March 2025 transaction, his own purchase of seven of the eleven lawn mowers, and his re-selling of five of the seven lawn mowers on his Facebook Marketplace," according to the investigation.
In his defense, Keenan said the district lacks a centralized inventory tracking system, controls over vendor relationships and safeguards against conflicts of interest, according to his statement.
"These failures created an environment where routine transactions can be misinterpreted or weaponized against employees, particularly those who have challenged misconduct," he wrote.
Board members argued during Monday's board meeting that the district needs to dive deeper into its purchasing processes. Board Members Gregory Harrison and Barbara Sykes both said they believe the allegations against Keenan should be referred to local police and the IRS, while Sykes also said the district's practices should be audited by the state.
"This is dealing with our inventory process, our purchasing process, and how we go about doing things," Sykes said. "And perhaps we want to see if the auditor can get in as soon as possible to take a look at what what we're doing, how we're doing it and if it's to the advantage of this district."
Keenan in his statement said he had blown the whistle on alleged misconduct by former Superintendent Michael Robinson in fall 2024 and alleged he was contacted by Harrison in an "intimidating and coercive manner" afterward.
"I was subjected to persistent verbal abuse and isolation from October 2024 through June 2025," he said. "On June 6, 2025, shortly after filing a second formal complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, I was placed on paid administrative leave under vague pretenses."
The district declined to comment on Keenan's resignation.
Editor's note: Steven Keenan is a member of Ideastream Public Media's Community Advisory Board, a volunteer group. His work on the board is independent of his position at Akron Public Schools. As a board member, he has no input on Ideastream's editorial decisions.
