MichelleB....You keep talking about hysteria and I just don't see it.
I think she ment back when she was five and the community was turned up side down.
Michelle B, my world felt like a snow globe when four or five high schoolers at my school were killed wheh their car rolled down a hill and landed yards from the school play ground. The school still has a closed campus and that was 30+ years ago. No panic, that's just the way it is.
It is required by law that schools, including universities shut down for National Elections. Local and primary elections are held at the schools here. Last year (perhaps it was two years ago) our precints were redistricted. Everyone was confused. So the ones that had to go to the schools that wasn't familiar with where to go were wondering around. I did not like that. Also they do not have to sign in at the school because they are not supposed to go past the offices. With that many people it is impossible to monitor. I think that schools should be closed for elections if they are used for the polling house.
Schools will be closed this year on election day in our town because it is too close to the election to have them moved. Also, there are legal issues with moving them. So, by our school board making this decision in the short term to satisfy our community, they have also agreed to poll our community in order to either keep schools closed and let the county use the buildings on election day, or to work with the election board to move them out of the schools for good. There are so many other great places that are convienent in our community. Many of these buildings that could be used did not exist even 10 years ago. Schools used to be truly needed to provide ample opportunity for voters, however, with time and more construction, there are dozens or more of suitable, accessible, handicap, etc., places to use. Why should we change school security for one day every election? Makes no sense to me.
"We don't lock our doors to keep out terrorists; we lock our doors to keep out perverts."
Yep, us too. Actually, it's not just the perverts; our biggest--and very real--fear lately is noncustodial parents. We've had more than one case of the NCP showing up at school and trying to take their child out of the school, which could very well have led to one of those tragedies none of us wants to contemplate.
After having to lockdown a classroom to keep the child in question out of sight and out of reach and having to keep the raging NCP sequestered in the office until the police could arrive, I don't think anyone at our school would ever consider allowing an unmonitored flow of people access to the building during school hours.
MichelleB....You keep talking about hysteria and I just don't see it. I think there is a vast difference between hysteria and concern. You can also be concerned about something and take action to change it with out hysteria or alarming your children.
Since this topic has been on the boards a few days I had a conversation with my principal about it to ask him his opinion. This is kind of moot point as our schools have been closed for the kids on Election day since I was child.
Anyway, he told me that it just would not happen on his watch. Yes, if someone wants to shoot in the windows with a machine gun and get in then they will get in and there will be no way to stop them. But he will not leave the doors open to let any stranger enter the school who pleases. We have no security and the office is around the corner from the main entrance, so essentially you could get into the school and be up to god knows what before anyone was on to you. He said he would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to any of the students or staff over not doing something as simple as locking a door.
We live 15 miles from ground zero and over 100 people in my county (including 2 from my town)were killed on 9/11 in the towers. We are the least hysterical bunch of people. No one here runs around carrying on about terrorists nor are our children worried about them. We don't lock our doors to keep out terrorists we lock our doors to keep out perverts.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions and each school district can do whatever it deems is best.
I would just like to ask though...If your doors are left open and little Janie gets snatched in the hallway on the way to the bathroom would that change your mind on the open door policy? Or would you still think the open door policy was a good thing?
Yes, car accidents and all types of terrible things happen every day that we have absolutely no control over and you cannot run arround hysterical never doing anything out of fear of all the things that could happen. But I see nothing wrong with taking simple precautions to try and stop certain things from occuring.
Rocket, I will pass along one word of warning to your community in looking for other places to serve as polling places. In my previous hometown, schools were not used as polling places but instead they used various local buildings, including churches. I for one had a real problem with using churches as polling places--even though I'm a devout, active churchgoer. I just could envision too many people who be uncomfortable having to go into my church to vote. (Maybe it's because I'm a religious person that I see that as a sacred place, not a secular one.)
Does your school district have staff development days when the kids are not in school? Do any of them occur in the fall? Why not on election day? That's what my current home district does, so that, as another poster mentioned, the kids are not in school on the day the schools are being used for polling places. They would have those days off at some point anyway, and if they were held on other days the school would just stand empty. Better to tie the two together. And yes, here too that arrangement came long before 9/11 or even Columbine.
