On Tuesday night, Butler County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief.

By 8:45 p.m., statewide results indicated the much-discussed Amendment 1 would pass.

With 12 percent of boxes statewide tallied, there were 107, 234 “yes” votes vs. 66,228 “no” votes (62 percent vs. 38 percent).

“I am hopeful that the rest of the night will follow the early votes,” Looney said.

“I think most people realize this is a huge issue and it looks like it’s going to be a positive vote for our schools in the state.”

Passage of Amendment 1 will change how much money the state can borrow from oil fund reserves.

The current amount allowed is six percent of the 2002 budget. Passage of the amendment will update it to six percent of the 2006 budget.

Looney said the passage of the amendment would greatly lessen the impact of the “almost inevitable” proration.

“What does this mean to us here in Butler County? It means the difference between keeping and letting go some high-quality employees, bussing students and paying our power bill.