Paterniti, Albright Win Chardon BOE Seats; Another Bond Issue Fails
CJ Paterniti came out on top in the race to fill two open seats on the Chardon Schools Board of Education.
CJ Paterniti came out on top in the race to fill two open seats on the Chardon Schools Board of Education.
Candidate Todd Albright defeated incumbent Madelon Horvath by a margin of only 21 votes to claim the second seat.
Paterniti received 2,662 votes, Albright got 2,479 votes and Horvath grabbed 2,458 votes, according to the final unofficial results of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
Gina Payne and Alicia Taylor received 1,345 and 1,035 votes, respectively, to round out the ballot.
When reached by phone, Paterniti expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve his community.
“I just want to thank the voters, thank the community, and thank my wife and my kids for supporting me,” Paterniti said. “I promise to do my best.”
Albright thanked the public for their votes as well as their trust and encouragement during his campaign.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve them,” Albright said, adding he encourages residents to participate in district business.
“Please attend the school board meetings so we can work together to accomplish the change … that the voters have put their trust in me to bring forth. We need participation,” he said.
Dennis Pavella, board of elections chair, said the results of the race will not be official until the vote is certified, which he expects to occur on Nov. 18.
Pavella said provisional ballots and potentially late-arriving absentee ballots have yet to be added to the total count. Once those numbers are totaled and certified, a recount could be triggered if the difference in percentage points between Horvath’s and Albright’s results is less than 0.05%.
Horvath, when reached by text message, said the race is so close at this point, she is holding back on commenting.
“I want to thank the people who helped me and believed in me,” Horvath said. “I am certainly disappointed, but want to wait till it’s officially certified.”
Bond Issue Fails
In yet another blow to the district’s wishes to update aging school facilities, voters rejected Issue 22 — a $7.2 million, 15-year, 1-mill bond issue — with 3,513 against and 2,358 in favor, according to final unofficial results.
The money was intended for repairs and updates, including a major upgrade to visitor stands at Memorial Field, which must be revamped regardless of the results to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The bond issue was also intended to provide funds to relocate the district’s school bus garage as well as to create additional parking spaces and drop-off zones at Chardon High School to alleviate traffic backups.
The district and board settled on the smaller bond issue after the November 2019 failure of a $76 million, 37-year bond issue, which would have allowed for the construction of an entirely new grade-six-to-12 campus.
In a statement, Superintendent Michael Hanlon said the district is disappointed in the results, but is committed to ensuring Chardon Schools operate efficiently and effectively.
“Our volunteers worked extensively to communicate the key message that we listened to the community and focused our efforts and resources to work with the facilities we currently occupy, and that this bond issue was critical to addressing the ‘next tier’ of needs identified in our school district,” Hanlon said, adding thanks for volunteers who worked to communicate the importance of the bond issue leading up to the election.
The board of education will evaluate the results and their impact on the district’s Capital Improvement Plan moving forward, he said.
No decision has been made at this time to place another bond issue on the ballot.
