The board has been discussing again using schools for voting sites for the past couple of years because of a declining number of other building owners willing to allow use of their locations as polling places. Those locations include churches and business buildings.
The new locations identified so far include school buildings along with a Miami County Park District property and the Bradford Fire and Rescue Building, according to a list reviewed by the board.
Board of Elections Director Laura Bruns and Deputy Director Ian Ridgeway said they also are looking at other public buildings and are still working on plans for polling places in the cities of Troy, Piqua and Tipp City along the Interstate 75 corridor.
Bruns said the schools in the rural areas are often in a central part of the community and serve as an activity hub. They also are accessible under Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, which can be a concern at other locations, she said.
The board action will place eight voting precincts in Bethel Twp. and Huber Heights at Bethel High School’s Bethel Hall, with voters using the athletic entrance.
Other locations will be Lostcreek Preserve’s new Heritage Hall for the Elizabeth and Staunton South precincts; Miami East High School gymnasium for three precincts; Milton Union High School gymnasium for eight West Milton and Union Twp. precincts; Newton High School’s Field House and Community Center for Pleasant Hill and Newton Twp.; Bradford Fire and Rescue for Bradford and Newberry West; and Covington High School for Covington and Newberry East.
At its March meeting, the board reviewed a letter from the Bethel Local Schools asking it to reconsider using the schools as a polling location. The letter expressed concern about safety/security of students and said the school was not equipped “to handle additional traffic and demands that come with serving as a polling location.”
The district offered to work with the elections board on finding another location within the community.
Elections Board Chairman Dave Fisher said he has talked with Superintendent Matthew Chrispin and a board representative about the lack of other suitable locations in Bethel Twp.
The school district was asked last week about the polling locations at the school.
“Bethel Local Schools looks forward to working with the board of elections to host the upcoming elections,” said Jacob Watson, Bethel Local Schools communications director. “Mr. Fisher has been a pleasure to work with, and our district is looking at options on how to both be a polling location and provide a quality education, as well as a safe learning space.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
At the Covington schools, Superintendent Joseph Hoelzle said the district had concerns about having voting held in the schools.
“However, the school board understands the benefit of the electoral process playing out and … looks at it as an enhancement to the education we are offering our kids,” he said.
Hoelzle said he discussed with Ridgeway the longtime use of the Covington Eagles building for voting and, to his knowledge, the lack of issues with that location. He said they also discussed possible use of another building, the Covington Fire and Rescue building.
Ridgeway said Thursday, “The Board’s primary focus has been moving toward public facilities, and Covington Schools suggested we could look into utilizing the Covington Fire & Rescue facility, which is something we’re exploring.”
Some local school districts, including Kettering and Dayton, schedule November’s Election Day as a staff training day without students, which makes it easier for school facilities to serve as polling places.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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