Delta bond issue passes by six votes

By STEVE COLON

Expositor Editor

DELTA - The third time did prove to be the charm for Pike-Delta-York Local Schools.

On Saturday, the Board of Elections counted 15 provisional ballots and certified the early August election counts.

As a result, the PDY bond issue gained six votes for the levy and one against for a final margin of 918 for and 912 against.

The original count from election night had the levy passing by just one vote.

The district had asked voters to approve a 4.3-mill bond issue that would in turn bring $15.5 million in Ohio School Facilities Commission dollars.

The local share would generate $10 million over 28 years and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $147 annually.

"We are excited," said Superintendent Robin Rayfield. "It has been an arduous battle. Our big effort now is to bring the two groups together."

Rayfield hopes to address the concerns of those voting against the bond issue on all three attempts.

"If there was a version we could have put forward that would have gained (public) support, the board certainly would have done that," he said. "We still don't know their rationale (for voting no)."

Rayfield said attendance was sparse at the many public meetings held throughout the process.

"Hopefully, when we hold our future public engagement meetings to get more information on the particulars of the project, we can engage some of those folks," he said. "If there are people out there who voted no and just didn't have enough information, that is what I see this community engagement process as providing.

"No one wants their taxes to go up, but there were some people who said this is a good thing for our community even though it was painful."

Board of Elections deputy director Brett Kolb said there were 15 provisional ballots, not 16 as originally reported. Of those votes, three were cast in the Liberty Center tax issue. The remaining 12 votes were cast in Delta with five disqualified. Four provisional votes were cast by unregistered voters and one voted in the wrong precinct, Kolb said.

That left the final provisional votes counted as eight, with seven being cast in favor of the bond issue.

Kolb said the mandatory recount will take place Friday at 8:30 a.m. He said in his experience, no recount has changed the vote tally. All votes within one-half of one percent margin must have a mandatory recount.