Out of sight, out of mind.

For all its talk about “making it right” in the wake of Ohio’s worst railroad disaster in a decade, Norfolk Southern seems intent on putting East Palestine in its rear-view mirror.

Not only did the railroad giant try to lay off parts of the $600 million it promised to those harmed in the 2023 derailment and ensuing venting and burning of cars filled with vinyl chloride, it has also walked away from a promised $30 million wellness center and athletic complex for the East Palestine City School District.

But wait. There’s more.

Norfolk Southern and the city also mutually agreed that a promised training center for local first responders wasn’t feasible. That joint announcement included confirmation of a $22 million settlement, including $13.5 million already paid to the city, and an additional $25 million toward renovating a city park.

“From the village’s perspective, Norfolk Southern is meeting the expectations outlined in our agreements,” a village spokeswoman told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “That’s all we can say at this time.”

The city may be satisfied from its perspective, but the school district is not. The East Palestine schools, represented by attorney Ashlie Case Sletvold, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The lawsuit accuses Norfolk Southern of failing to reimburse the district for using its buildings during the disaster and abandoning construction of the community wellness center and athletic complex. According to AP, the district lost more than $1 million in state and federal funding last year alone because of a drop in enrollment post-disaster. Property and income tax revenues have also dropped. The East Palestine schools now face an uncertain financial future.

“To abruptly walk away, it says a lot about what a corporation can do to a community,” Superintendent James Rook said.

Rook said the promised wellness center was viewed as the most prominent part of the railroad’s commitment to the city and the district’s recovery.

“This disaster upended our students’ lives. Norfolk Southern promised it would not walk away and would help our community recover and thrive,” Rook said during a press conference on Wednesday. “But Norfolk Southern did walk away from our students.”

The lawsuit seeks not only the $30 million for the wellness center, but $300,000 in additional expenses.

Alan Shaw, the former CEO who made those initial promises before Congress, during interviews and in person in East Palestine, had his career derailed by an alleged inappropriate consensual relationship with a railroad executive. Shaw was fired last fall, but his successor, Mark George, said Norfolk Southern will follow through on all its promises. AP reports that he has visited the city several times.

But now, the railroad’s commitment to keeping its word and making East Palestine whole again is in question. For example, Norfolk Southern has refused to pay for cost overruns on the park project.

Some East Palestine residents view the railroad’s recent moves as a sign that its commitment to “making it right” was just talk.

“Now that Alan Shaw is gone and there is a new CEO in place, all the board cares about is getting those shares as high as possible and to be able to make it right for their shareholders,” resident Misti Allison told AP. “And if the East Palestine community is a casualty in that, then so be it. This is yet another example of putting profits over people.”

She is not alone.

“I think a lot of empty promises were made,” said former East Palestine resident Krissy Ferguson, who recently moved her family to Poland.

She told AP that their home in East Palestine still doesn’t feel safe.

Sletvold told The (Lisbon) Morning Journal the district is seeking reimbursement of all disaster-related costs, lost revenue from property taxes, income taxes and decreased student enrollment and the $30 million cost of the wellness center.

“There is no question where the blame lies,” Sletvold said. “Norfolk Southern has no right to walk away from the catastrophe it created.”

We couldn’t agree more.