Sugarcreek, Ohio - Garaway school officials say they’re disappointed after another narrow levy defeat in Tuesday’s election but aren’t planning to make any immediate cuts.

During the November 6th General Election, voters rejected the district’s 4-mill, 10-year emergency levy by a margin 181 votes. Had the levy been approved, it would have generated about a million dollars annually for the district. 

Garaway Superintendent Jim Millet says the money would have been used to fund safety improvements and offset anticipated reductions in state and federal funding. He says the district will be fine for now thanks to careful planning but will need to figure out how to address the loss of funding in the long term. 

“We know that the need doesn’t go away, so following this disappointment, the board will have a work session. Our levy committee will convene and have more discussions, and we’ll decide where we’re going to go from here,” he says. 

The measure was first presented to measure was first presented to voters as a 3-mill levy during the May 8th Primary. It was defeated by just seven votes.

STACEY CARMANY, TUSCO TV