Recount next after Gahanna-Jefferson school levy passes by 76 votes

GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) — A Gahanna-Jefferson school levy has been narrowly but officially approved by voters in the district.

Unofficial results from election night showed the issue passing by just two votes. On Wednesday, certified final results from the election showed issue 22 has passed by just 76 votes out of nearly 29,000 cast. Now the district says it's ready to move forward with its vision.

"It's going to set us up well for the next several decades," said Superintendent Steve Barrett

Now that the results have been certified, the district is ready to start construction.

Issue 22 provides more than 200-million dollars over the next nearly 4 decades for a new high school and additions to middle and elementary schools.

"We're growing as a district. There's a lot of building happening in Jefferson Township and we expect to have over 800 students in the next 5 to 6 years," Barrett said. "We did an enrollment study, a forecast, and we're going to be growing exponentially really soon. So, just really grateful to our community for supporting this."

Joan Allen voted for the measure for that reason.

"I live in a neighborhood with 100 children, young, going through a tough time because of COVID," Allen said. "It's becoming more important to realize they need up to date buildings. We need safe environments so I'm supportive of it."

Some money will also be used to fund operations and general improvements and offset recent cuts.

"The state cut our funding by about 11-percent, 1.6 million dollars in May of this year and so this gives us a little bit of breathing room, which is great," Barrett said.

76 votes also gives the issue some breathing room in passing. But because the difference is less than one half of one percent, by Ohio Law an automatic recount will be performed on the vote.

"We're looking at November 30th as a date to begin those recounts," said Aaron Sellers with the Franklin Co. Board of Elections.

Allen isn't surprised the vote was so close.

"Well, I think there's a lot of people who don't want to pay the taxes, like, I don't have children who attend school but I want to support the kids to have a good education. So I'm happy it passed. A win is a win. Just like football,” she said.

Barrett is confident a recount won't change the end result and is moving forward as such, looking for an architect and planning community meetings to decide from several concepts.

"In June of 22, we're hoping to put shovels in the ground and begin building and we're hoping to be done by the 24-25 school year. Now that's an ambitious timeline but we think we can meet it," Barrett said.