As the Farmersville school comes down, the fate of the school in Farmersville and its land has been under debate since the contentious school levy passed in 2020.

In response to recent coverage in the TWIN CREEK TIMES Valley View Treasurer Valorie Hill made a presentation at Monday’s Board of Education meeting to refute some of the statements made by Farmersville Mayor Nick Lamb. See the earlier story here: School Committee 'Waste of Time' Says Farmersville Mayor

Hill stated in her presentation, “Recently, statements have suggested that the Village of Farmersville played the primary role in securing the demolition grant. The factual record indicates the district initiated conversations with Montgomery County Landbank. The district engaged legal counsel to navigate the grant process. The district invested significant staff time and legal resources in the preparation of the application. The district coordinated the environmental partner and board approvals required for submission.”

“The Village involvement consisted primarily of attending informational meetings with the landbank, advocating with county officials and providing a letter of support for the project for the grant application. The district appreciates this support. However, the application development, legal compliance, project management, and financial responsibility for the project have been carried by the school district.”

Creating the Timeline

Using previous statements from the Village, the school district, Village Council minutes, Board of Education meeting videos and Monday’s statements by the school, the TWIN CREEK TIMES has put together a timeline of events from the last two years.

Throughout this process, the relationship between the Village and the school district has been at times friendly and cooperative and at times combative.

View the timeline below in reverse chronological order from this week back to Winter 2022.

March 10, 2026 - Demolition begins on Farmersville school.

March 9, 2026 - Valley View Treasurer Valorie Hill makes a presentation at the Board of Education meeting to refute earlier reported statements by Farmersville Mayor Nick Lamb.

That same evening, the Village Council went into executive session to potentially discuss another offer for the school land.

February 25, 2026 - Board of Education president Tim Rudd says in a community Facebook post, “If the land's value can be increased through re-zoning, and if re-zoning is squarely within the Village of Famersville's ability to approve, then any negotiations need to be centered on that value. I would not be inclined to support any sale to the Village of Farmersville that did not negotiate based on that scenario and would support seeking re-zoning if they don't. If that re-zoning request were denied, I would be inclined to support sitting on the property until the Village of Farmersville got new leadership.”

February 10, 2026 - Valley View Board of Education uses an agenda item to share thoughts on the potential sale of the building to the Village of Farmersville. Board president Tim Rudd appeared to address the discrepancy in land estimates, saying, "So my thoughts are that we have an obligation to the people of all of the community, all of the Valley View community, to maximize the value to the district for that piece of property. I don't think that it would be right to have the rest of the Valley View community subsidize taking a haircut on a deal for the people of Farmersville." See UPDATE: School Sets Tone for Farmersville Land Sale

January 12, 2026 - Farmersville Mayor Nick Lamb visits the Board of Education meeting to propose two courses of action to the Board of Education: direct sale to Farmersville or joint development partnership.

In the Village of Farmersville Council meeting that same day, Lamb shared that the appraisals Farmersville has received are in the range of $100,000-140,000, which is lower than the estimated $275,000 he said the school may want for the property.

~2025~

November 10, 2025 - According to Village Council minutes, Mayor Lamb said two developers estimated the land valued at $80,000-$100,000 and that the School Board would like to sell the land for $274,000. After Council returns from executive session, they vote to make an offer of $75,000 to the district to purchase the land.

Oct. 13, 2025 - Mayor Lamb updates the Village Council that the district has decided to sell the school land. “Originally, there was discussion the school would donate the land to Farmersville after demolition,” the Council minutes report.

In her March 2026 Board presentation, Treasurer Valorie Hill says, “No decision regarding the future of the property had been made by the board of education until recently.”

October 2, 2025 - Treasurer Valorie Hill responds to the Mayor’s email with a message also signed by the Superintendent and Director of Operations Erik Depew. The school voiced its disappointment in Lamb’s request to dissolve the committee. “The district does not agree with the conclusions outlined in your message, nor do we believe that the committee has lost its value as a place for partnership and dialogue. While there may be differences in interpretation of recent communications, our intention has always been to maintain transparency and to act in the best interest of both the school district and the community.”

Mayor Nick Lamb responds the same day with an email to the district confirming his desire to disband the Valley View Junior High Committee, stating: “Jon [Schade] and I have served on multiple committees with the school, particularly under previous leadership, and unfortunately those also ended in what felt like a waste of time and effort. Unfortunately, the pattern seems clear.” See School Committee 'Waste of Time' Says Farmersville Mayor

September 29, 2025 - Mayor Lamb sends an email to Superintendent Cook, Director of Operations Erik Depew, Treasurer Valorie Hill and board members Tyson Dillon and Stephanie Smith. Lamb’s email said, “When asked directly, the school refused to provide any meaningful information about their intentions for the property. Then, almost immediately following the meeting, the community received an email with far more detail than you were willing to share with the committee itself. That is not partnership, it feels more like posturing. And it demonstrates that the school board had already made its decision before our meeting.” See School Committee 'Waste of Time' Says Farmersville Mayor

In its March 2026 presentation, the school addressed the Mayor’s statement in his email that the school initially picked the wrong consultant, stating, “Montgomery County maintains a list of approved environmental partners eligible to submit grant applications. The village provided this list to the district. From that list, Verdantas was selected as the environmental partner. Verdantas submitted the grant application on behalf of the district.”

September 25, 2025 - A meeting of the Valley View Junior High Committee is held. Shortly after, the school district releases an email and social post announcing a grant that will cover 75% of the $1,104,000 building demolition costs and stating, “It is believed that the 25% matching costs incurred by the District may be recovered through the sale of the property.”

The March 2026 Board of Education update included this statement, “A discussion among two board members and the Junior High Building Committee members occurred on September 25, where board members considered possible next steps after demolition. At that meeting, it was discussed that once demolition is complete, a new commercial appraisal would be obtained. After the appraisal was obtained, the board would determine the appropriate position of the property. No sale price had been determined. Ohio Sunshine Laws require such discussions among the full board to occur in a properly noticed meetings, preventing informal decision-making outside of those meetings.”

August, 2025 - Chief Bruner reports in the Village Council meeting that juveniles recently trespassed at the school and sprayed fire extinguishers and broke windows. Village minutes say, “Chief Bruner is putting more pressure on Valley View School Board to safely secure the property because of safety concerns.”

June 9, 2025 - Village Council minutes note that Mayor Lamb and Village Administrator Derek Shell met with Associate and Simms builders about the school property and the possibility of building a patio home neighborhood. Farmersville would be responsible for the development of the neighborhood.

“Mayor Lamb reports Jon Schade and himself have a meeting with a school board rep to get the transfer of the school property to the village in writing,” the minutes say.

February 24, 2025 - Mayor Lamb reports in the Village Council meeting that the Valley View School Board submitted for a brownfield grant to help fund the demolition of the old junior high building.

February 10, 2025 - Mayor Lamb attended the Board of Education meeting and shared the Farmersville Vision Plan.

He also talked about how the lack of a school in town has been detrimental to local businesses, “We had a local business owner share that you wouldn't believe how many people who live in Germantown have never been to Farmersville, and I said no that that can't be. I was asking around with parents and I was surprised to hear that he was right that a lot of parents said yeah we've actually never been to Farmersville until we dropped our kids off at the Junior High Building for the first time.”

“Metro Basketball has been a great addition to our community this year. That's one of the things we were really worried about. In talking to local business owners the amount of traffic in Farmersville has really decreased since the Junior High moved.”

Village Council minutes state, “Mayor Lamb announced the BOE approved to close the Junior High School permanently, this will allow for grant opportunities. The Metro Basketball program offered $1,500 a month to rent the gym. The BOE refused. The cost of demo and abatement is $1.38 million. The BOE approved to set aside $283,000 to cover the 25% the BOE would be responsible for if the Landbank awarded the grant for demo and abatement.”

January 29, 2025 - In a Facebook post, the Village of Farmersville shares an update on its plans for the school land.

~2024~

December 9, 2024 - According to Village Council minutes, Mayor Lamb and Jon Schade have a follow-up meeting with school building committee on December 10. Mayor Lamb reports he will ask the building committee for their plan to demo the old Junior High building.

November 25, 2024 - Village minutes note that Traci Alford will be presenting a petition from The Citizens of Farmersville to the Valley View School board on December 9. “The petition is for Valley View to demolish the old Jr. high school as they promised when residents voted to pass the school levy. Mayor Lamb and council members voiced their support for this petition,” the minutes reported.

In the same meeting, the minutes note, “Mayor Lamb announced the building committee's plan A is to have the landbank to award funds to have the building demolished. The landbank would pay 75% and the school would pay 25%. Mayor Lamb plans to ask the building committee what plan B is and when plan B will start. Mayor Lamb suggests that the building committee should have 1 year to complete plan A. Mayor Lamb reports school board president, Mr. Rudd announced in January 2024, that he supports Farmersville. Mayor Lamb plans to ask Mr. Rudd how he has made the demolition of the Jr. High a priority? Mayor Lamb announced he will ask the school board to remove the outbuildings located at the Jr. High by June 2025.”

November 12, 2024 - Village Council minutes include that Chief Bruner met with the Valley View Superintendent, Andrea Cooke. He informed her about the importance of the demolition of the Junior High building and what it meant to the community.

The minutes also include, “Mayor Lamb reports the Valley View Superintendent informed him the school submitted a request for funds to the Montgomery County Landbank for demolition of the junior high building. Mayor Lamb reports that he received an email from Montgomery County Landbank stating all projects submitted were approved. Mayor Lamb contacted Montgomery County Landbank, and they reported that Valley View was not approved due to Valley View missing the deadline to submit projects.”

In its March 2026 presentation, the school district maintained that “No application deadlines were missed during this process. Grant advisors indicated applications for occupied buildings, of which Farmersville was, were not likely to be approved. For that reason, the district strategically waited until the building was vacated before pursuing the application.”

August 12, 2024 - The Village hosts an open community meeting for strategic planning for the school land.

February 12, 2024 - Village Council minutes include the following, “The Junior High School committee had their first meeting. The committee consists of Jon Schade, Mayor Lamb, Mr. Scholler, Valley View Legal Counsel, Valerie Hill, Stephanie Smith, and Tyson Dillon. The purpose of the committee is for Farmersville and Valley View Schools to work together to determine the future of the junior high building.”

“Mayor Lamb reported that compared to the three other jurisdictions in the Valley View School District, historically The Village of Farmersville has the highest percentage of yes votes on school, police, and fire levies. Mayor Lamb reports there is also The Citizens for Farmersville Committee. They are also meeting to help determine the future of the junior high building.”

January 22, 2024 - The Village Council meeting included an update from Mayor Lamb that he attended the School Board meeting. An update from the Mayor read at the meeting said, “The board made two public decisions which are critical steps in the right direction for Farmersville. 1. The board agreed to not sell the school building until an acceptable solution for the building is in place. 2. A new committee will be formed consisting of 2 board members and 2 members representing Farmersville. The superintendent asked me to serve on that committee and appoint an additional person. I'm happy to do it to continue progressing the discussion.”

January 16, 2024 - Mayor Lamb addressed the Board of Education, “Approximately a year from now the Junior High building will be vacated by students and faculty. Farmersville has discussed the available building with many potential suitors and unfortunately none of those suitors have been willing or able to make the property work successfully for their business. It seems clear at this point that the best result for residents, especially the residents that own homes within an eyeshot of the building is for the building to be demolished. The last thing we want is for an old dilapidated school building with trees growing out of it sitting in our Village. These buildings are not only an eyesore for the community but become a nuisance property for local police and fire departments.”

“The spring 2020 bond issue election included demolition of the old school buildings, including Farmersville. For many Farmersville residents it was a selling point for supporting the bond. These same residents feel like the rug was pulled out from underneath them.”

January 8, 2024 - Village minutes note that Mayor Lamb will ask the school board if the land west of the building can be parceled off and for funds to assist in demolishing the building. Mayor Lamb reports that a newly formed group called "Citizens of Farmersville" will meet Thursday, January 11, in the council chambers to discuss ideas for the future of the Junior High building.

December 18, 2022(?) - Montgomery County hosted a landbank webinar attended by Mayor Nick Lamb and Village Administrator Derek Shell. The school district, in their March 2026 presentation, says that only municipalities were invited, not school districts, which is why Valley View did not send a representative. The school does say that the Village provided information to the school based on what they learned at the event. [The year of this meeting is unclear from statements by the Village and school. This will be updated if additional information becomes available.]

Winter 2022 - In her presentation to the Board of Education in March 2026, Valorie Hill noted, “The K12 building plans came in 25% higher than expected. So to keep the project financially viable, the district and the project partners completed an extensive value engineering process. The OFCC approved removal of demolishing two of the buildings from the project scope.” This meant that the Farmersville school demolition was no longer funded.

© 2026 Twin Creek Times

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