AKRON — Two of the three Akron Public Schools educators facing termination are fighting to keep their jobs, asking an independent referee to review whether the district should be allowed to fire them.
Timothy Patrick, a commanding officer with the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at East Community Learning Center, and Crystal Kouns, a teacher at Ellet Community Learning Center, have appealed the Akron school board’s Sept. 14 decision to begin the termination process against them.
A third educator, Forest Hill Community Learning Center teacher Elizabeth Sholar, chose a different path. Instead of appealing, she resigned. The school board voted unanimously on Sept. 28 to accept her resignation and withdrew its vote to pursue her termination.
Sholar had been accused of using inappropriate testing practices in April that district investigators said could have influenced how students answered questions on Ohio’s fourth-grade math test.
Board President Barbara Sykes said accepting the resignation was part of Sholar’s due process rights. She added that the district is still required to notify the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s office of professional conduct about Sholar’s departure, and state officials could choose to revoke her teaching license.
The appeals by Patrick and Kouns mean their cases will now go before a neutral referee, who will hear evidence and make a recommendation on whether the district has just cause to end their employment.
