AVON LAKE, Ohio — The Avon Lake Board of Education is facing a lawsuit from a mom who lives within the district.
"This was a hard thing for me to do," says 35-year-old Erin Myers. “I have three kids in the district, and I love Avon Lake Schools.”
With her lawyer Matthew Miller-Novak by her side via Zoom, Myers explains to 3News why she filed the lawsuit against the Board of Education, which serves the district she loves.
“I want to see more transparency,” Myers says. “I noticed that a lot of meetings were happening without proper notice. There were meetings (that) happened that I didn't know about.”
In the lawsuit, which was originally filed in early November, Myers accuses the board of failing to follow aspects of Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. The law requires all “public bodies in Ohio to conduct all public business in open meetings that the public may attend and observe.”
Both Myers and Miller-Novak say filing a lawsuit is the best way to get the Board of Education to operate in a transparent manner.
“The violations here are so habitual, it really seemed like the only logical option to put a stop to it,” Miller-Novak says. “We’re talking about making sure that people who go to the ballot box have the proper information that they need to evaluate their elected officials.”
The suit claims the board failed to post notices and the purpose of multiple special meetings, including a meeting that approved the employment contract of the district’s new superintendent. The suit calls these actions unlawful and accuses the board of not taking proper minutes as required by the Open Meetings Act.
“I really want to be in tune with what's going on, and that requires transparency,” Myers shares.
She says there’s a misperception that the lawsuit was filed to stop the $170 million bond issue that would have given the district the money from taxpayers to build new schools and renovate the high school.
“I was a proponent of the bond issue,” Myers points out. “I volunteered for it. I was on the facilities committee that came up with the plan. I wanted to see Issue 11 pass.”
The measure failed by just 441 votes on election day.
The lawsuit was amended after the board held a special meeting on Nov. 12 in Columbus to discuss a resolution to place the bond issue back on the ballot in March. The suit claims holding a meeting over two hours away while the board attended an Ohio School Boards Association conference violates the spirit of the Open Meetings Act.
“We had already sent the lawsuit to Lorain County and then that meeting happened,” Myers explains. “It really confirmed to me that I did the right thing.”
According to a message posted to the district’s website from Avon Lake Superintendent Joelle Magyar, the Board of Education voted on Nov. 29 “to table the Resolution to Proceed which would have placed a bond issue on the March 19, 2024 Primary Election.” The message goes on to say, “after reviewing our financial outlook, the decision to 'press pause' was reasonable.”
“It (the lawsuit) isn't about a bond issue or trying to stop a bond issue,” Myers explains. “It's trying to stop bad government.”
3News reached out to the Avon Lake Board of Education and their lawyer about the claims. Board President Jim Stobe responded by saying “the Board does not comment on pending litigation.”
According to the lawsuit, Myers is asking for the following:
- An order enjoining the Board from further violations of the OMA;
- A writ of mandamus ordering the Board to take proper minutes of its meetings, as well as all of its unlawful executive sessions;
- Statutory forfeitures;
- Attorney fees;
- Costs and expenses;
- An order invalidating all unlawful actions
- Any and all other relief the court deems proper under the circumstances
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