The count to date is 2,821 votes against and 2,549 votes for, a ratio of 52.5 to 47.5.
This election was originally scheduled for March 17, and many residents had already voted by then via absentee ballot. Their votes are included in these results. But state officials canceled March 17 in-person voting at the last minute due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, and moved all voting to mail-in ballots.
Valid absentee ballots that were postmarked by Monday and are received no later than 10 days after the election will be counted. Results of the election will not be final until the Greene County Board of Elections’ official certification meeting on May 19.
The Bellbrook school levy is a new 5.7-mill tax that would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an extra $199.50 per year. Residents rejected a replacement levy last year that would have cost $211 per $100,000.
An anti-levy group led by resident John Stafford wants lower taxes and has said the school district should cut teacher pay and benefits.
FEBRUARY: Forum gives Bellbrook-Sugarcreek residents levy, tax info
Bellbrook schools Superintendent Doug Cozad said that the district has approved more than $2 million in budget cuts and now needs more revenue.
State officials have recommended a variety of cuts because the district projects it will run out of money in four years even if next month’s levy passes. Cozad said all school staff have agreed to a pay freeze for next school year. School officials said additional cuts totaling $2.46 million over two years will occur if the levy doesn’t pass.
Those cuts would include significant busing reductions, canceling some art, STEM and keyboarding classes, laying off three teachers and four bus drivers, increasing pay-to-play fees to $300 per sport and cutting the stipends for 85 assistant coaches and club advisers.
Bellbrook’s 2019 and 2020 levy campaigns have been combative. Supporters and opponents created multiple real and parody Facebook pages, sometimes with crude posts mocking the other side.
JANUARY: State audit suggests ways to trim schools’ budget
A mailer to the community from Stafford included some incorrect data about tax rates, wrongly attributed to the county auditor. One man was cited by Sugarcreek Twp. police for disorderly conduct stemming from an altercation with Stafford at the Jan. 30 school board meeting.
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