Akron Public Schools’ facilities service director in hot water over lawnmower sale

Akron Public Schools’ Director of Facilities Services Steven Keenan resigned after an investigation found he resold school district lawn mowers on Facebook Marketplace for thousands of dollars in profit, according to reports.

At issue are 11 lawn mowers owned by Akron Public Schools, which Keenan allegedly traded to a vendor in Macedonia, Ohio, without approval from the school board in order to acquire new equipment, Signal Akron reported. He then repurchased seven of those mowers through a “friends and family” discount from the same vendor and listed five of them on Facebook Marketplace, asking for a combined $14,700, Cleveland 19 reported.

According to an APS investigative report, Keenan profited nearly $11,000 by reselling the equipment.

During the school board meeting on Monday, APS cleared a path for his firing, pending legal review.

Superintendent Mary Outley, in remarks quoted in that meeting’s documentation, emphasized ethics and trust. She said the district has “high expectations for all our employees” and must act when those expectations are violated.

Keenan, for his part, has pushed back.

According to Ideastream, citing statements released by APS, he described actions taken against him as “disproportionate and selectively-enforced.” He also said the district’s trade-in list of equipment was compiled by other employees and approved by the APS office of business affairs, according to the Ideastream report.

“I purchased seven mowers at (the vendor’s) standard’ employee and family discount,’ which has been extended to other APS employees,” Keenan wrote in a statement to the district, per the station’s report. “I paid with personal funds and did not direct delivery from APS property.”

Keenan remained suspended while the school board and legal counsel determined whether to begin formal termination proceedings.

Ideastream reported that Keenan resigned on Wednesday. Akron Public Schools did not respond to an Ohio.News request for confirmation.