03/11/2025
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING UPDATE:
It is beyond frustrating that one person is choosing to work against the betterment of children and public education in this community. Now is the time to be involved and get active. Call your county commissioners. Write letters. Attend meetings. It’s not fair to future students to be denied the best possible school, at a discounted rate, because of personal agendas. Please read this statement made by Norwalk’s superintendent, Brad Cooley, for more insight.
James Sitterly, our county prosecutor, is actively interfering with the work of our Huron County Commissioners. I have never seen one person work so hard to prevent a school district from acquiring the necessary acreage to build a brand new school that will serve 1,700 students for the next half century.
Sitterly's opinion is just that, an opinion. He is not the final authority, nor does his opinion match that of any other firm that we have consulted with regarding the matter.
The Norwalk City School District has operated in good faith; however, we have never been given the opportunity to meet with the commissioners in an executive session to negotiate a fair market value for the land. We were supposed to speak publicly with the Huron County Commissioners on February 18 and March 4, but on both occasions, we received a call from their offices stating that we were removed from their agenda.
A process that should be a win-win for our kids and for our county has turned into nothing but resistance and needless frustration. It is beyond the pale that we have a county prosecutor and a county commissioner, Harry Brady, who exert their authority for personal wins that run counter to the greater good.
Given that we were not allowed a face-to-face opportunity with the commissioners, the school board and I sent an offer to the Huron County Commissioners (see below); that email was sent on March 2. Two days later, I received a return email, not from a commissioner, but from James Sitterly. It was a public records request that asked for information that had little to no relevance to the sale of the Shady Lane farm (we can provide that record for you). He ended his response with a postscript stating that Mesenburg would be abstaining from the school vote without explanation.
We are still waiting on a counter offer from the county commissioners, even though we understand that Tom Dunlap attempted to make such a motion today for the sale of 23.36 acres at $20,000 per acre. We also understand that Brady chose not to second the motion, and therefore, once again, nothing happened.
Perhaps more disturbing than Brady's actions, or lack thereof, is the fact that we have a county prosecutor stepping into a role that he was not elected to do. Sitterly is determining the purchase price for the land, and stating to citizens, not to me, that $40,000 is the price per acre. This is not how ethical individuals operate.
Fortunately, the Ohio Ethics Commission, the Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, and Bricker Graydon LLP will have a voice going forward. In the end, we believe that Brad Mesenburg will be able to join his colleague, Tom Dunlap, and do what is right by our community and county.
