EAST PALESTINE — The attorney representing East Palestine City Schools in its lawsuit against Norfolk Southern called the railroad’s motion to dismiss the latest attempt by the billion-dollar company to shirk responsibility for the mess left in the wake of the 2023 train derailment.

“The people of East Palestine have not forgotten Norfolk Southern’s repeated promises to ‘make it right.’ Yet this company continues to say one thing and do another,” said Ashlie Case Sletvold of the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, the firm who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the district in Youngstown’s District Court. “Rather than accept responsibility for its failures and keep its promises, Norfolk Southern wants to cut corners with the children of this community. The Board of Education looks forward to holding Norfolk Southern to its word.”

The district filed suit against the railroad on April 30 for what the school administration said were “broken promises” by Norfolk Southern including reneging on a $30 million community wellness center — an idea the district said was initiated by Norfolk Southern.

The lawsuit also accuses the railroad of failing to reimburse the district virtual learning costs incurred and for use of school grounds during the initial emergency response. The district is also seeking damages for a drop in enrollment following the rail disaster and loss of revenue from diminished property values within the village as well as revenue lost from businesses closing in the village. Public school districts rely heavily on both property and income taxes as funding sources.

Norfolk Southern filed a motion to dismiss several of the lawsuit’s key claims last week, insisting wellness center discussions were nothing more than talks and disputing the district’s claims for future financial loss based on reduced property and/or income taxes.