SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — Notre Dame College former business professor Peter Corrigan told South Euclid City Council during its meeting Monday (Nov. 25) that benefactors were willing to cover the debt owed by the school in an attempt to keep it from closing last spring, but that certain parties worked against their efforts.
Corrigan challenged those parties to address council at a future meeting to explain why the school closed despite the offer to pay off the debt.
Corrigan told council that NDC owed a $2.5-million operating debt, which could be easily settled, and a more problematic $15-million long-term debt with Bank of America.
When asked to assist professional bank negotiators engaged by the benefactors to help resolve the debt, Corrigan agreed.
“Very quickly, the bank negotiators informed me that offers and compromise could be settled for as much as 50 cents on the dollar, thus reducing the college debt challenge to about $8 million,” Corrigan told council. “The benefactors were prepared to cover this amount to keep the school open.
“However, to proceed, we needed authorization from the (NDC) Board. The Board refused, telling us to just bid on the (purchase of the) property. None of the benefactors had interest in owning the property, just keeping the school open.”
Bids were accepted from those wishing to purchase the property in June. There has been no announcement of an accepted bid. The county valued the 48-acre property along South Green Road at $30.7 million.
In March, Corrigan took part in a lawsuit, along with Councilman Justin Tisdale and NDC’s former baseball coach Len Barker, against the NDC Board President Terri Bradford Eason (who has since resigned), alleging that all alternatives were not employed to keep open the college. The suit also sought to have the benefactors gain authorization to reach a compromise with Bank of America.
“Ironically, on her (Eason’s) behalf, we sued to ultimately be able to hand over some $8 million to Notre Dame College. We sued her to ultimately give her millions of dollars.
“All she needed to do was allow the benefactors, the people giving major money to the school, to use their resources and business contacts to negotiate. An extraordinarily simple remedy to a lawsuit that did not ask for money.
“Instead, the board chair used the school resources to fight to keep the school closed.”
Corrigan said that, three weeks ago, one of the remaining NDC Board owners gave the benefactor group authority to negotiate on the college’s behalf.
He said that the Board’s attorney, Colleen O’Neil, of the firm Calfee, Halter & Griswold, “intervened and told the bank we did not have this authorization, acting as if she was on the board, herself.
“Effectively, Calfee, Halter, Griswold; Inglewood Associates, the outside accountants; and Colleen O’Neil appear to be working in concert and feverishly to close the school despite very legitimate attempts by benefactors to resolve the debt.
“And now, the questions are even starting to come from the (Ohio) Attorney General’s Office.
“Like the attorney general, we do not understand why they’re fighting so hard to close the school when this is clearly not a financial issue.”
Corrigan closed by inviting those he said are in opposition to keeping open the school to also address council.
When reached by phone the following morning, O’Neil said she was not aware that Corrigan had spoken to council.
She said that attorney-client privilege prevented her from commenting about what Corrigan said.
O’Neil said she would reach out to the college on Tuesday (Nov. 26) to ask if they wanted to issue a statement, but cleveland.com did not receive a statement.
A call to the communications director in the office of Attorney General Dave Yost was not returned.
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