A school counselor has taken legal action against a local school district, alleging misuse of power and violation of her rights. On December 22, 2025, Barbara Kolkowski filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against the Ashtabula Area City School District Board of Education and several individuals in their official capacities.
The lawsuit stems from Kolkowski’s claims that she was retaliated against after objecting to being assigned administrative duties that are prohibited by Ohio law for licensed school counselors. According to the complaint, instead of addressing these concerns or providing a fair adjudication process, the defendants allegedly altered her job description without her consent, manipulated grievance procedures, and created false payroll records. Kolkowski argues that these actions deprived her of property and liberty interests without due process and were executed as part of an official policy ratified by senior decision-makers within the district.
Kolkowski’s case highlights a series of grievances she pursued starting around 2020 when she challenged the legality of her assignments and subsequent job description changes made in December 2020. She alleges that these grievances were never properly addressed through neutral arbitration. In September 2023, an attempt was made to resolve these grievances through a union resolution which Kolkowski did not agree to or accept any settlement funds from. Despite this, the defendants treated this resolution as binding.
In addition to procedural grievances, Kolkowski accuses the district of coercive payment practices. A settlement check was sent to her home in September 2023 which she refused; however, it was still recorded as income on her W-2 form for that year despite multiple notifications to correct this error. This imputed income affected her legal and tax status without proper hearing or decision-making processes.
The lawsuit seeks several forms of relief from the court: a declaration that the defendants’ actions violated constitutional rights; voiding and unenforceability of any purported settlements; correction of payroll and tax records; compensatory damages; punitive damages against individual defendants; attorney’s fees; and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Barbara Kolkowski is attorney Brian M. Kolkowski from Leroy Township, Ohio. The case is presided over under Case ID: 1:25-cv-02764.
