Brecksville-Broadview Heights School Levy Fails, City Charter Amendment Passes

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights schools levy has failed by 286 votes, according to numbers from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website. 

The site shows that all 22 precincts had reported as of 9:54 p.m., and the final unofficial count was 4,531 against the levy and 4,245 for it. Provisional and overseas ballots are not included in the unofficial results, according to the board’s website. 

Greg Skaljac, co-chair of the Schools Issues Committee and a Brecksville City Council member, said after Tuesday’s council meeting that he couldn’t imagine what kind of “monster cuts” the district would have to make if the failed. At that time, the absentee ballots and a handful of precincts were in, and the levy was already losing. The district was going to have to make cuts even if the levy passed, Skaljac added.

The city’s charter amendment passed easily, with 3,538 votes for it and 1,030 against it. The amendment will move up the filing deadlines for candidates, recalls and other issues in elections.

Mayor Jerry N. Hruby noted during Tuesday’s City Council meeting that more than 2,700 residents voted using an absentee ballot, which he called a large number. 

Check Brecksville Patch on Wednesday for more reaction to the election.