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Two Clark County School Districts Hope Recount Approves Levies

Two Clark County school districts had levies defeated by narrow margins on election day.  The Clark-Shawnee and the Tecumseh Local school districts are hoping to see vote totals change by the end of the month when all provisional and absentee ballots are counted.

Voters in the Clark-Shawnee School District rejected a proposed 10-year, 7.59-mill levy that would have raised $2.5 million per year. The levy was defeated by only eight votes.

Clark-Shawnee Superintendent Gregg Morris says he isn't optimistic that a recount will overturn Tuesday's election results.

"The likelihood is that it won't be turned around at this particular point.  I'm not sure that there are that many provisional ballots in there from Clark-Shawnee," Morris said.

The district has made significant cuts in the last two years and Morris believes that there just isn't much more that can be done away with.

"We've already cut $3.2 million in the last two years. The state's cut us well over $1 million over the last two years. We just don't have any place to cut without doing significant damage to our programs. There will be $700,000 additional cuts that are going to be made here in the next few weeks," Morris said.

After losing its ninth straight levy request by only 98 votes, the Tecumseh Local Schools is already planning to put its 12.37-mill levy on the August 8 ballot. It would raise $3.5 million per year.

Tecumseh school officials say the district is facing a $1.6 million deficit for the 2013-2014 school year and a possible state takeover.

The Clark County Board of Elections will begin counting provisional and absentee ballots next week. If the vote totals indicate the levies were defeated by one half of one percent, then an automatic recount will take place.