Akron Public Schools’ own spokesperson is suing the district in federal court. Stacey Hodoh, the district’s director of strategic communication, media, community relations and outreach since 2024, filed a lawsuit Nov. 12 in U.S. District Court alleging discrimination and retaliation, and she is also suing Superintendent Mary Outley for retaliation and defamation, according to the lawsuit as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal.
The lawsuit, which requests a jury trial, follows an Aug. 13 letter from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that gave Hodoh the right to sue within 90 days. Hodoh has been on paid administrative leave since May and declined to comment Nov. 12, the Beacon Journal reported. The case has been assigned to Judge Sara Lioi of the Northern District of Ohio.
Hodoh is asking the court to end her administrative leave, return her to her district job, award back pay and money for attorney fees and other damages, bar the district and Outley from retaliating against her going forward, and remove references to her leave and related decisions from her district files, according to the Beacon Journal’s account of the filing…