Parents, Teachers Complain About Election Voting in Schools

After moving election polling out of Hillsborough's elementary schools, some said the district needs to work to have polling moved out of Hillsborough High School and Hillsborough Middle School, as well.

At Monday's meeting, teacher Maria Delucia told the Hillsborough Board of Education members she felt the voters' presence in the middle school was "uncomfortable."

"It was uncomfortable having the doors to the building open and having people come in throughout the day," she said. "It was uncomfortable because, even though there was law enforcement present, I still found voters down by the gym...trying to find their way out of the building."

She noted she observed an elderly woman struggling to get to the voting in the school library as the school's nearly 1,200 students crammed the hallways between classes.

Delucia said she was also concerned about the health and safety of the students, and wanted to board to consider to find other locations besides the schools for the voting.

Delucia joins a number of parents who also find the open school doors on election day disconcerting, and Board President Thomas Kinst noted the board has received correspondence expressing the same concerns.

In response, Superintendent Jorden Schiff said the district collaborates with police for the elections, and added this was the first general election with the governor's race at the top of the ticket, a bigger draw than usual.

"We are going to be discussing calendar for the next year in the next few months coming up, so we will have an 'after-actions' discussion in the Operations Committee, sharing your concerns as well as concerns we've received," Dr. Schiff said, adding the board will "make decisions going forward."