In all races, valid absentee ballots that were postmarked by Monday and are received no later than 10 days after the election still will be counted. So results won’t be certified as final until May 11 in Montgomery and Miami counties, and May 18-19 in Greene and Warren counties.
• Bellbrook-Sugarcreek: This hard-fought 5.7-mill levy for day-to-day expenses was being rejected at a 52.5 to 47.5 ratio, and it seems unlikely that the result would flip.
There are 1,386 outstanding Bellbrook school ballots, counting absentees and provisionals, according to the Greene County Board of Elections. Even if a solid majority were turned in and ruled valid (say 1,000), the margin in those ballots would have to be roughly 640-360 in favor (64/36 ratio) for the levy to pass.
Bellbrook Superintendent Doug Cozad said barring an unexpected reversal of results, the budget cuts announced months ago will move forward. Those will include significant busing reductions, canceling some art, STEM and keyboarding classes, laying off three teachers and four bus drivers, and increasing pay-to-play fees to $300 per sport, among other measures.
Cozad said all school staff had already agreed to a pay freeze for next school year. He said the district has not yet made a decision about any future levy request, and wants to make sure it understands residents’ reasons for their votes, from normal opposition, to job loss and worry tied to the coronavirus shutdown.
“We always try to (make) the best decisions for the students,” Cozad said. “However as you increasingly get in a more difficult financial situation, the finances start playing a bigger role. That’s where we are with losing art and STEM in grades K-5.”’
• Valley View: After multiple previous rejections, voters were approving a new levy by a 57-43 ratio. The 37-year, 5.5-mill bond issue, paired with $29.7 million in state money, will pay to build a new campus adjacent to and incorporating the current high school.
The other piece is a 0.5% income tax increase to address budget shortfalls, as the district projected it would run out of operating money in the 2022-23 school year.
Superintendent Ben Richards said previous program cuts will not be reinstated, but severe cuts that were pending this summer will not be required. On the building plan, the district will start working with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and soliciting community input.
“There’s a desire to get the (building) planning done as quickly as possible, but we need community input,” Richards said. “Our community has given us a vote of confidence, and they want a project that they’ll be proud of. We want to respect that.”
• Troy: Superintendent Chris Piper thanked supporters after the district's proposal to replace aging elementary schools with four new buildings was rejected. He also referenced people's financial worries in "this unprecedented time of uncertainty in American history."
“While we respect the election results, it doesn’t change our need for new elementary schools,” Piper said. “We will continue to look for ways to ensure future learning for our students through new buildings.”
• Beavercreek: Voters continued their recent pattern of rejecting new Beavercreek school levies the first time they're on the ballot, as a 9.85-mill substitute levy was trailing by a 52.4 to 47.6 ratios. As with the Bellbrook levy, it would take a dramatic change in late-arriving ballots to flip the result.
Substitute levies keep existing taxpayers’ rates the same, but allow the schools to gain money from future construction.
In both 2017 and 2019, Beavercreek voters approved school levies on a second try, six months after rejecting them. Superintendent Paul Otten said he thinks the district will ask again in November, but added that’s up to the school board. The current levy would not expire until the end of 2021.
• Cedar Cliff: Results showed voters approving their 2.6-mill substitute levy by a 53-47 margin. As in the Bellbrook and Beavercreek cases, it's mathematically possible, but unlikely, for that result to be reversed by late-arriving ballots.
• Preble Shawnee: Voters soundly rejected a pair of school levies by a 59-41 ratio — a bond issue to build a new elementary school and a 0.75% income tax increase to fund daily operations.
• Vandalia-Butler: Voters approved a 10-year renewal of their 7.03-mill operating levy, with unofficial results showing a 61-39 ratio.
• Lebanon: Voters were approving their three-year, 4.1-mill renewal by a 55-45 ratio.
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