Mayor’s Message

On June 17, 2010, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a split decision affirming the State Board of Education's denial of the petition to transfer the Village of Walton Hills from the Bedford City School District to the Cuyahoga Heights Local School District. Three justices (Justices Stratton, O'Connor and Lanzinger) ruled in favor of the State Board, holding that the mere loss of revenue is sufficient grounds to deny a school transfer under Ohio law, and that the State Board's error in considering race was a "harmless" error. Two of the justices (Justices O'Donnell and Cupp) joined a dissenting opinion, in which they sided with the Village of Walton Hills, stating that they would have reversed the Board's decision and remanded with instructions to grant the transfer. One justice (Justice Pfeiffer) concurred in the judgment only, which means that Justice Pfeiffer did not agree with Justice Stratton's reasoning, but he agreed to affirm the Board's decision.

The Village believes that the plurality opinion authored by Justice Stratton is erroneous and fails to consider certain evidence in the record that demonstrates that the alleged financial harm of the transfer is not nearly as great as was described in the opinion. The Village filed a motion for reconsideration. We will keep you informed as we progress through this process.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (CCBE) advises voters to prepare for the historic September 7, 2010 Primary Election by becoming familiar with the new county government system. For the first time, voters will cast ballots for partisan candidates running for 11 County Council District seats and County Executive. The winning Primary Election candidates from each party and Independent candidates will be on the November 2, 2010 General Election ballot. All Cuyahoga County voters now live in one of the newly formed districts; Walton Hills is located in Cuyahoga County District 6.

The CCBE must receive Vote by Mail ballot application requests by noon on September 4th to be eligible to vote by mail. In addition, the CCBE is hiring for the September 7th Primary and the November 2nd General Elections. Those interested can email their application to:

pollworkerjobs@cuyahogacounty.us or call 216.443.3277. Election Day workers earn a minimum of $172.10.

Congratulations are in order to our Recreation and Community Life Director, Lisa Gagliano, who was nominated for the Outstanding Senior Advocate Award given by the Hamlet Village in Chagrin Falls. She was honored with a proclamation and a delicious lunch. Lisa, you are definitely a winner and an outstanding senior advocate to all of the residents whose lives you have touched!