Ohio school board faces lawsuit over allegedly illegal special meetings, including one to approve a $170M bond

A mother of three is suing an Ohio school district, alleging the board violated the state’s Open Meetings Act multiple times, including in a meeting to approve a tax-increasing bond issue.

Erin Myers filed a public lawsuit against the Avon Lake Board of Education last month, the Chronicle-Telegram reports.

“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.”

The lawsuit alleges the board failed to notify the public of at least nine special meeting since December 2022. 

Ohio’s Open Meetings Act requires all “public bodies in Ohio to take official action and conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meeting where the public may attend and observe.” The public must also be notified in advance of the meeting taking place. 

One incident highlighted in the lawsuit occurred on Nov. 12, when a special meeting was held at a location outside the school district, without adequately informing the public, the Chronicle-Telegram said.  

Myers’s attorney, Matt Miller-Novak, a Cincinnati Family Law Attorney, questioned the board’s motives. 

“It is common sense that holding a meeting two hours outside of the district repudiates the spirit of openness and transparency the Open Meeting Act demands of public bodies,” the lawsuit stated, according to The Chronicle. “Therefore, to pass a bond issue without public scrutiny, respondents evaded their entire public by holding a meeting in a Columbus Hampton Inn and not informing them the purpose of that Columbus meeting was to seek a tax increase.” 

During the special meeting, the board voted to pass a resolution for a $170 million bond issue, which was previously rejected on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to the Chronicle-Telegram.  

The board plans to use taxpayer dollars to build new schools and renovate the high school, according to WKYC. 

Myers says it’s not about the money but rather the lack of transparency from the school board that led her to file the lawsuit. 

“I was a proponent of the bond issue,” Myers said. “I volunteered for it. I was on the facilities committee that came up with the plan. I wanted to see Issue 11 pass. It (the lawsuit) isn’t about a bond issue or trying to stop a bond issue. It’s trying to stop bad government.” 

In another incident, the school board allegedly hired Joelle Magyar as the superintendent of Avon Lake Schools during a special meeting in August.  

In November, a petition was started by a member of the community asking for Magyar to resign.  

“Voters deserve the right to information to make informed decisions,” Miller-Novak said in a statement according to the Chronicle-Telegram. “Hiring superintendents in special meetings without providing notice and passing resolutions in hotels across the State of Ohio deprives people of their right to that information. 

“We are bringing this action on behalf of Ms. Myers and every voter in the district to ensure everyone has the information necessary to make informed decisions.” 

Myers is seeking a court order to halt further violations of the Open Meetings Act, a directive for proper minutes in future meetings, reimbursement of attorney fees and any other relief the court deems appropriate.