The East Palestine Board of Education is suing Norfolk Southern over unfulfilled financial commitments related to the railroad company's , according to school district officials.
A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in the small town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Feb. 3, 2023. Two days later, Gov. Mike DeWine ordered all residents in a one-mile radius of the site to evacuate their homes following a "drastic temperature change" in one of the derailed cars. At the time, a press release from the governor's office stated there was "the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile." On Feb. 6, officials performed a highly scrutinized vent and burn of the carcinogen vinyl chloride that was being carried in multiple cars.
Since returning home, many residents have they say are from the derailment and vent and burn. Many residents have moved out of town due to health concerns, and residents and officials have long complained about Norfolk Southern not doing enough to make things right.
鈥淭his disaster upended our students鈥� lives," East Palestine City School District Superintendent James Rook said in a press release. "Norfolk Southern promised it would not 鈥榳alk away鈥� and would help our community 鈥榬ecover and thrive.鈥� But Norfolk Southern did walk away from our students."
The more than $30 million suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway and Wise alleges that Norfolk Southern failed to reimburse the school district for emergency response costs, including the use of school facilities by emergency personnel, Rook said. The district also housed and transported residents displaced by the mandatory evacuation order using school buses, he said.
Norfolk Southern had promised to build a community wellness center at the school, which the company has failed to follow through on, Rook said.
"The community wellness center was really born from Norfolk Southern itself," he said. "They initiated it. They proposed it. They engaged with an architect, a construction firm, even going so far as to create design plans."
The company also promised to rebuild the district's athletic facilities, which it has failed to do, he said. Norfolk Southern requested the district to engage stakeholders on the project and create a Wellness Center Steering Committee, which held meetings and garnered input from students and the community, utilizing employee time, he said.
The company has also not reimbursed the district for operating expenses from the derailment's impact on property values and resident income that's the basis for the district's budget, Rook said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e also suffered extreme losses when it comes to our virtual learning," he said. "As a result of the derailment our students had to learn virtually, in some cases for six months.鈥�
Communication with Norfolk Southern was open when Rook began with the district this school year, he said.
鈥淥ver time, they have backed away from this rather significant commitment," he said.
Ashlie Case Sletvold, an attorney representing the school board, has a different take.
鈥淚 think the technical legal term you may be searching for there is ghosted you," she said.
The school has entered numerous agreements with Norfolk Southern that the company has failed to follow through on, Sletvold said.
"We have a combination of different commitments, including oral commitments, written commitments, just sort of the general understanding stemming from Norfolk Southern's public statements from the beginning of this train wreck disaster," she said.
East Palestine schools were closed from Feb. 6 to 10 following the derailment. School staff underwent professional development training focused on trauma to better assist students in the aftermath of the derailment, Rook said.
鈥淪ince the derailment, Norfolk Southern has made over $16 billion in profits, a windfall it achieved because it pawned off the costs of the trainwreck on this community while hoarding its profits," Sletvold said in a press release. "Norfolk Southern鈥檚 eagerness to resume its operations by unnecessarily exploding toxic chemicals to clear the tracks left the schools facing financial instability."
The suit claims negligence, strict liability for ultrahazardous activities and breach of contract.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said the company has committed more than $1.1 million to the East Palestine School District and has reimbursed the school district for every invoice that's been sent with "proper documentation."
Rook disputes that.
"I've provided Norfolk Southern personally with all the documentation that they've requested to allow them to fulfill their obligation," he said.
Shortly after the derailment, Norfolk Southern gave the district $300,000, Sletvold said.
"The CEO specifically characterized that as a down payment on the funds that would ultimately be due to the school district and made that statement under oath to Congress," she said.
The derailment was never declared a federal disaster, which Peiffer Wolf contends would have helped the district's recovery.
This is the latest lawsuit stemming from the derailment attempting to hold Norfolk Southern responsible for the damages. Residents settled a in 2024. Norfolk Southern also settled a with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a with the village of East Palestine.