Crystal Kouns
Introduction
Crystal Kouns is a teacher at Ellet Community Learning Center in the Akron Public Schools district in Ohio, where she had worked since joining the district in October 2014. Her name entered public record on September 14, 2026, when the Akron Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a resolution stating its intention to consider terminating her contract, and suspended her immediately without pay. The board action came after a nearly two-hour closed-door executive session and was one of three such resolutions passed that evening against district educators in unrelated matters. The accusations against Kouns, adopted by the board in Resolution 26-147, concern alleged inappropriate conversations with students, an alleged racially offensive comment, alleged retaliation against a student, and an extended pattern of absences.
Background Information
Kouns spent more than a decade with Akron Public Schools before the termination proceedings began, having been hired in October 2014 and assigned to Ellet Community Learning Center. Little else about her personal or professional background has been reported; the public record of her case consists almost entirely of the board’s resolution and coverage of the September 14 vote by the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron. Signal Akron reported that Kouns and the two other educators named that evening — Elizabeth Sholar, a teacher at Forest Hill Community Learning Center, and Timothy Patrick, a Marine Corps JROTC instructor at East Community Learning Center — each allegedly violated board policies and district guidelines during the 2025-26 school year. The resolutions, passed Monday evening after a lengthy executive session, placed each individual on unpaid suspension and recommended termination.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from the Akron Board of Education’s Resolution 26-147, which the board passed unanimously on September 14, 2026. They were never admitted by Kouns, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court.
According to the resolution, the board accused Kouns of a series of misconduct spanning the final two school years of her employment. Per Signal Akron, the board alleged she engaged in “negative conversations” with students about other students, coworkers and administrators from June 2024 to May 19, 2026. The resolution further alleged, as reported by both outlets, that she:
- discussed opinions and allegations of staff misconduct with students;
- had conversations with students about their sexual behaviors unrelated to instruction;
- made a “racially offensive comment” toward a student, then retaliated against that student by preventing them from returning to the classroom after learning the student had reported the incident;
- threatened to disclose allegations concerning a student’s academic conduct or achievement; and
- engaged in unprofessional conduct regarding an incident in which a student office worker brought a note to the classroom.
The resolution also cited Kouns’s attendance record. The board stated she missed 60 of 79 scheduled workdays over a four-month period in 2025 — Aug. 18 to Dec. 12, per Signal Akron — and then missed another 55 unpaid and unexcused workdays between February and May 2026 without providing the required medical documentation.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The immediate consequence was her removal from the classroom: the September 14 resolution placed Kouns on unpaid suspension on the spot, separate from the termination process still to come. The Akron Education Association, the teachers union, responded through its president, Pat Shipe, who said the union would meet with its three members to review their options and take further action within the following 10 days. “Any employee of Akron Public Schools, whether in our bargaining unit or not, has the right to due process under disciplinary matters,” Shipe said. “The three employees referenced in the resolutions the board passed last night are all members of AEA and now have 10 days to respond to the board how they wish to proceed.” The sources record no public response from Kouns herself; the Beacon Journal reported Shipe could not be reached for comment on the day of the vote. Neither outlet reported any board member dissenting from the vote, which was unanimous.
Current Status
As of mid-September 2026, Kouns remained suspended without pay while the termination process played out under Ohio law. Under that law, the board cannot formally terminate her contract until 10 days after she was notified of its intent to do so, and within those 10 days she has the right to appeal by requesting in writing a hearing before the school board or before a referee. The Beacon Journal reported it was unclear whether the employees planned to appeal. Her union had signaled only that it would meet with her to review options in that window.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The board action effectively ended Kouns’s run with Akron Public Schools unless a hearing reverses course: she has been suspended without pay and faces formal termination of her contract unless the appeal window resolves in her favor. The accusations now attached to her name are serious for any educator — allegations of discussing students’ sexual behaviors outside instruction, a racially offensive comment toward a student, and retaliation against a student who reported it — even though they remain unproven board allegations rather than court findings. Because she was identified by name in board resolutions covered by both Akron outlets, the case is permanently part of the public record of her profession, with whatever hearing or appeal follows set to unfold against that published backdrop.