An Ohio superintendent, Jude Meyers, faces more than a dozen criminal charges from his time leading the Gallia County Local School District, state auditor Keith Faber announced Monday.
Meyers, who left rural Gallia County in August 2021 to become superintendent of Shawnee Local Schools, was indicted by a grand jury investigating allegations that he used his position to gain employment contracts for his son between 2015 and 2019, Faber said.
Meyers faces 13 criminal counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, all fourth-degree felonies; one count of theft in office, a fifth-degree felony; and one count of conflict of interest, a first-degree misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment on Monday. Meyers did not respond to a request for comment from District Administration.
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The Ohio Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit launched its investigation after the agency received a complaint about Meyers in January 2019. The indictment alleges that Meyers secured his son, Marcus C. Meyers, at least 13 separate contracts for work as a substitute employee or for supplemental coaching positions, Faber said.
The indictment also alleges that Meyers, using his position as a public official, “converted school equipment and other resources for his personal benefit.” He is accused of using school-owned lawn equipment to mow his lawn, a school vehicle for personal trips while his own vehicle was being repaired, and a district van and trailer to move furniture and other personal belongings between residences, Faber says.
Meyers was the superintendent of Gallia County Local Schools from 2014 through mid-2021 when he accepted a position as superintendent of Shawnee Local Schools in Lima, Ohio. Prior to switching posts, he had applied for the superintendency and was named a finalist in at least five other Ohio districts, according to the Mercer County Outlook.
He was the superintendent of Old Fort Local School District, also in Ohio, from 2011 to 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I take my role as superintendent very seriously, for you have entrusted me with the most important resource in this district, our young people,” Meyers wrote in his introductory message on Shawnee’s website. Under the message, there is a link and phone number for the Ohio Auditor of State’s fraud hotline.
