The Akron Education Association, the union representing teachers in Akron, says a lawsuit it filed against Akron Public Schools in early 2024 has revealed potential issues with the credibility of superintendent C. Michael Robinson.
The union filed the suit in January, alleging the district illegally deleted part of the recording of a January board of education meeting to remove criticism of the district.
During a deposition in Summit County Common Pleas Court in early August, the attorney for the union questioned Robinson about two different versions of his resume. One version was provided to the district prior to his hiring in 2023. The other is from December 2020.
According to a press release Tuesday from the union, "During his deposition, Superintendent Robinson claimed that from 2018-2021, he 'worked' with no pay at a private consulting company. Despite testifying under oath that we could easily verify his employment by contacting his former employer, minutes later Dr. Robinson testified that he could not recall the name of a single person at this employer who could verify his previous three-year employment claim. Dr. Robinson’s credibility is central to the lawsuit."
The 2023 resume shows Robinson working as a senior executive with the private education consulting firm Burns/Van Fleet in Houston from 2018 to 2021. But the resume from December 2020 shows Robinson only working there from March 2020 to December 2020, along with a separate job at BRP Associates, an education consultant in Jonesboro, Georgia, from 2018 to 2021.
In the deposition, Akron Education Association Attorney Don Malarcik asked Robinson for the names of anybody who could verify his employment during that time, which led to a tense exchange, according to a transcript provided by Malarcik.
"You said I could contact anyone to verify what you're telling us is true. Do you recall saying that a few minutes ago?" Malarcik said.
"Uh-huh, yes," Robinson said.
"Okay. So I want to take you up on that. Who can I call at BRP Associates to verify that you worked there and what you're telling us is true from 2018..."
"I don't know."
"You don't have a single name?," Malarcik said.
"I'm not going to tell you the name, no," Robinson said.
"You're refusing to tell us the name?" Malarcik responded.
"I don't remember," he said.
The union says it has withdrawn the suit but is considering refiling it, considering what it learned from the deposition.
Akron Public Schools issued a statement Thursday from Robinson calling the union's efforts "nothing more than an attempt at distraction and misdirection."
"Between 2018 and 2021, I engaged in consulting work as a senior executive/associate with both Burns/Van Fleet and BRP Associates," Robinson said in the statement. "My work with each was sporadic, with the goal of building my connections in the education industry and learning from seasoned professionals such as Stuart Berger with Burns/Van Fleet. Because of the minor amount of work I performed for BRP, I chose not to include them on my resume submitted to Akron. Further, given the limited work I performed with Burns/Van Fleet, the differences between the dates listed for such work on my resume was immaterial and irrelevant, and of no consequence to the important work today of Akron Public Schools."
The district shared a comment Wednesday from Burns/Van Fleet CEO Stuart Berger from Spring 2024 in response to questions about Robinson's time at the firm, after Berger visited Akron to talk about results of an audit Robinson hired him to conduct.
"At that time the firm was a startup, and several executives, including the CEO, worked without compensation to give the firm the viability it enjoys today," Berger said in the statement.
The Akron Beacon Journal, which first reported on the discrepancies, reported former board president Derrick Hall expressed concern that he was not made aware Robinson wasn't being paid for his time at Burns/Van Fleet, which could have affected his vote to hire Robinson last year.
"He was being paid as a high-level, sought-after, expert consultant. That was what my impression was," Hall told the Beacon Journal
Current board president Diana Autry in an emailed comment Wednesday said the board stands behind Robinson, calling the deposition and lawsuit a "sad attempt to discredit Dr. Robinson."
"The board unanimously voted to hire Dr Robinson for a 5-year contract," Autry said. "The board has since given a satisfactory evaluation and is forward focused. Dr. Robinson's work in one year has produced full day pre-k, reading initiatives, celebration of educators and staff and multiple gains on the preliminary report card. Almost 20,000 children are counting on us to work together on their behalf. The board respectfully asks AEA leadership and its members for their partnership and cooperation moving forward. We are on the same team. TEAM CHILDREN!"
The district welcomed the end of the lawsuit in a separate statement Tuesday, calling it "meritless," and alleged it was dropped in part to avoid having Akron Education Association President Pat Shipe testifying under oath.
"This lawsuit needlessly caused the school district to incur the time and expense of defending the meritless accusations," Autry said in the statement. "And did not advance the interests of the school district community at all."
