AKRON, Ohio — Let's get this fact out of the way right now: New Akron Public Schools Superintendent doesn't have an easy answer for the timing and future for the aging North High School.
"That’s the big elephant right now," Dr. Michael Robinson explained. "It's like the mystery. Is it going to be built? When is it going to be built? What I can say is we are in discussions and we are having a lot of discussions around it. To the degree that they can, it is very well kept but there are a lot of issues with that building. The easiest thing for us is to build a new North High School."
The building, described as one of the district's "legacy" schools, was one of several topics the new superintendent touched on in a wide-ranging conversation with News 5.
After assuming the role of superintendent on Aug. 1, the former chief academic officer at the East Baton Rouge Parish School system in Louisiana became the fourth leader for the district in the past two years.
"We know that we will have to ask for a levy which I know a lot of people are not going to want to have to do, but we will need their support," he said.
The conversation took place on Monday, just hours before the district voted to approve about $15 million worth of budget cuts over the next year, which amounts to about 4% of the district’s annual budget.
"It is pivotal that we make these reductions to stay fiscally solvent the way that we want to operate," Chief Financial Officer Steven Thompson explained.
The school board meeting also touched on the possibility of putting a tax levy on the ballot in the future, something that has not been passed in the district since 2013.
The next steps for Dr. Robinson
"I’m in this for the long haul," he said. "To be honest with you, I'd like to make this my last stop. So that gives me about 15-20 more years."
The new superintendent inherits a district of 20,000 students that just received an overall 2.5-star rating from the state.
"The data may be a large part of the recipe, but I also want people to realize that data is qualitative and quantitative," he explained. "We also must look at what happens in our microcosms of learning, our classroom, each and every day."
To increase those numbers, Robinson told News 5 the district must be willing to innovate.
"We have to change how we educate," he said. "We are expecting kids to sit in rows and do the same things we did. That's not the way we learn. Technology plays a much greater role and we must prepare of that. That data does not represent who we totally are. There's much more."
Another way Robinson hopes to raise those numbers and the district's profile is by expanding its career academy models.
"The plan was already in motion for middle schools, but now we’re going to be moving the academy model and mindset into elementary schools as well," he said. "It can’t start when they get to high school. It has to begin in Pre-k and kindergarten. In five years, we will have kids who have graduated, they will become viable citizens here in Akron. They will be able to add to the economy through paying taxes, and if we do a really great job educating our scholars, our city is going to benefit from that because more industry will come here."
Addressing school safety
In 2022, several Akron teachers spoke with News 5 about being assaulted by students in schools, and multiple videos surfaced of kids involved in violent fights.
"It's unfortunate," Robinson said. "It's not just an Akron problem; it's a world problem that violence is plaguing our schools."
Since then, APS has added new metal detectors at its high schools and moved older ones to its middle schools, comparing the student experience to going through security at the airport.
Additionally, the district rolled out a new program at East, Ellet and Buchtel High Schools that requires students to keep their cell phones in pouches during the school day.
"Safety is always going to be one of those things on my mind every day," Robinson added. "If I were here last year, I would feel much safer with all the new updated equipment."
There is one thing this Louisiana native admits he still needs to learn: how to call a snow day.
"I have not been through winter yet," he smiled. "I'm not looking forward to that part."
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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