Recount Triggered On Issue 69, The Heights School Levy

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Issue 69 — the Heights School levy — is headed for a recount.

On Wednesday, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections released its official, but uncertified, vote count for the Nov. 3 general election. Less than .5 percent separates the "yays" from the "nays," according to the tally.

The official results for Issue 69, the 4.8-mill tax levy, are as follows:

• For the levy — 15,061
• Against the levy — 14,926

Recounts are automatically triggered in municipal issues in Ohio if the margin of difference is 0.5 percent of less.

During a meeting on Wednesday, elections officials said the recount would begin Nov. 24. A certified letter announcing the recount will be sent to school district leaders shortly.

"We are pleased to learn that the official results show that Issue 69 has passed, and we await the Board of Elections' decision regarding a recount. At the polls, at home, and in the classroom, Heights families, staff, and community members prove each and every day that they are committed to seeing their public schools healthy and thriving. I thank them all on behalf of Tiger Nation students," Superintendent Elizabeth Kirby said in a statement sent to Patch.

Three communities had some say in the outcome of the levy: Cleveland Heights, University Heights and South Euclid.

In March, voters defeated a 7.8 mill levy for the district. The margin of victory was approximately 600 votes during that primary election. That levy divided the community, with yard signs advocating for and against the levy lining nearly every street in the two communities.

The question of levies on the Heights communities has not grown less divisive over the past six months. Tiger Nation 4 Lower Taxes asked the district to perform a state audit before asking voters for more funding. District officials have said the corrosive effect of state vouchers, coupled with a freeze in state funding, has left a glaring hole in the school system's budget.