Akron Public Schools board selects C. Michael Robinson Jr. as next superintendent

The Akron Public Schools board has voted to offer the superintendent job to an external candidate, C. Michael Robinson Jr.

The initial vote was 6-1, with board member Carla Jackson dissenting. But the board held a secondary "consensus vote," in which Jackson changed her vote to make it unanimous. The vote followed roughly six hours of an executive session for final interviews and deliberations.

The board will now begin contract negotiations with Robinson, if he accepts the position.

In a statement provided by the district following the vote, Robinson indicated he was eager to accept.

"I am extremely pleased and humbly honored to be joining the Akron Public Schools family," he said. "Together, with the students, staff, parents and community, we will take APS to new heights, and I'm very excited to be a part of this journey."

Robinson currently serves as the chief academic officer for East Baton Rouge Parish Schools in Louisiana.

He declined further interviews until there is a contract in place.

In an interview following the vote, Board President Derrick Hall called Robinson "talented," "thoughtful" and "deliberative," and said he was eager to build relationships here, even with the challenges of being an external candidate.

"I think he understands that a lot of folks in Akron probably wanted us to hire somebody who wasn't him," Hall said.

If Robinson and the board come to an agreement, he would be the second external candidate in a row the board appoints to the job, but the first with no previous experience in Akron schools.

Former superintendent Christine Fowler Mack came from Cleveland Metropolitan School District, but was an Akron graduate and taught in the district early in her career.

The other finalists were Mary Outley, a 32-year employee of Akron schools who has been serving as interim superintendent since February, and Jermaine Dawson, chief of academics and accountability for Birmingham City Schools in Alabama. A fourth finalist withdrew.

Hall said in the meeting the decision was not an easy one.

"I believe we had a great pool of candidates to choose from," he said.

Board member Job Esau Perry said the board did "a very thorough job" and hoped they could move forward together.

Robinson has been the chief academic officer for East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Louisiana since February 2021.

He has previous experience as a superintendent, serving in the top leadership role from 2016 to 2018 in Pine Bluff School District in Arkansas, a district of about 3,800 students, but he did not finish his contract there.

Akron schools spokesman Mark Williamson said Robinson asked to be let out of his contract after trying to work with his school board to implement a plan to avoid takeover by the Arkansas Department of Education.

"It was his decision to resign, which he did," Williamson said in a statement. "There were differences in how he wanted to conduct things within the district, which was based on support and recommendations from ADOE."

His departure was "a mutual understanding and negotiation for the remainder of his salary, which resulted in $50,000 of his annual salary of $155,000."

A few months later, the state took over Pine Bluff schools.

"The (Akron) board has been made aware of all of this prior to extending an offer to come to Akron Public Schools," Williamson said.

Robinson also previously oversaw efforts to improve low-performing schools and was then an assistant superintendent in Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland.

He served as a principal at the elementary, middle and high school levels and is a former middle school English teacher.

He earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southern University in Louisiana, his master's in educational leadership from Troy State University in Georgia, and his education specialist degree and doctorate of educational leadership from Argosy University in Florida.

Hall said the board was looking forward to the different ideas Robinson could bring from his various previous jobs.

"I think he brings a lot of problem-solving methodologies to the district," Hall said. "He's been in large and small districts. And so I think that kind of variety of experience is something that is going to benefit our public school system."

Hall said Robinson is both humble and collaborative, and interviewed well in front of the board. They also liked how he spoke during a forum Wednesday with stakeholders, which board members watched later by video.

"I think the board as a whole, we were very impressed with him," Hall said.

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 board selects C. Michael Robinson Jr. as next superintendent