Hurst paid $42,924 on leave

TIFFIN — Seneca County taxpayers paid Lewis Hurst roughly $43,000 while on paid administrative leave for more than three months during a criminal case, and the Seneca County Board of Developmental Disabilities has no resolution, vote or written agreement documenting his subsequent retirement, according to responses provided by the board to a public records request from the Advertiser-Tribune. Hurst, the former superintendent of the Seneca County Opportunity Center, was paid $42,924 in gross wages from March 28, when the board placed him on leave, through July 8, when he announced his retirement, according to a payroll report the board's records custodian provided in response to the request. The report covers 512 regular hours and 560 total hours over that roughly 14-and-a-half-week span, a rate of about $2,946 a week. The Advertiser-Tribune separately requested any resolution, separation agreement, retirement agreement, or severance agreement between the board and Hurst executed in 2026, and any board resolution or vote accepting or approving his retirement. The board's records custodian responded "n/a" to both, indicating no such record exists or could be located. Board President Erin Simmons confirmed Hurst's retirement in a written statement last week but did not say whether it was accepted by a vote, whether it was negotiated or voluntary, or whether any separation terms exist. "At the July 8, 2026 meeting, Lewis Hurst did announce his retirement and is no longer an employee with the Seneca County Board of Developmental Disabilities; however, the board is following all Ohio Revised Code pertaining to this situation," Simmons said. She said the board was still processing the Advertiser-Tribune's records request at the time. The Advertiser-Tribune sent follow-up questions Tuesday to Simmons, the board's vice president and secretary, interim superintendent Natasha Nichols, and County Prosecutor Derek DeVine, who serves as the board's legal counsel, asking them to confirm the $42,924 figure; whether any retirement-related action was taken in executive session that isn't reflected in the board's responses; whether the board plans any formal action on the retirement; whether Ohio law or the board's bylaws require a vote to accept a superintendent's resignation or retirement; and whether the board considered reducing Hurst's pay or placing him on unpaid leave while the criminal case was pending. None of the five responded by a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Hurst pleaded guilty July 2 in Sandusky Municipal Court to one count of theft, a first-degree misdemeanor reduced from a fifth-degree felony, after Perkins Township police said he switched price stickers to buy a $1,299 computer for $499 at a Best Buy in January. The court sentenced him to 30 days in jail, suspended in full, a $500 fine with $250 suspended, and ordered him to pay $857.99 in restitution within 60 days. Hurst's attorney, Dean Henry, said last week he would speak with Hurst and respond to a request for comment but did not do so. The Advertiser-Tribune sent Hurst and Henry a second round of questions Tuesday, on the $42,924 figure, whether Hurst is aware of any separation agreement not captured in the board's response, and whether he has comment on continuing to receive pay during the pending criminal case. Neither responded by the same 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. The Seneca County Opportunity Center, which operates under the county Board of Developmental Disabilities, provides services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and is funded in part by local taxpayers.