School board weighs in on polling place changes
Board of Ed letter responds to council comments
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

EATONTOWN - The borough Board of Education is standing by its request to end the practice of using the schools as polling places, despite opposition from the Borough Council.

At Monday's special meeting of the board, BOE President John Schiels read a letter that the board will send to the council in response to comments made by council members opposed to the change.

"The board read with much distress the public comments made by certain council members to the press," the letter states. "These comments, hopefully, are founded in a lack of understanding of the reasons behind this request."

Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said at last week's Borough Council meeting that he met with acting Superintendent Barbara Struble to discuss a change of venues for voting districts.

The procedures that Tarantolo proposed were that voting districts one and two, which currently vote at the Eatontown Community Center, would continue to vote there, but that residents of districts five and six, who vote at Memorial School, would be voting in the council chambers at the municipal building.

Residents of voting districts three, seven and eight would no longer vote at Meadowbrook School, but at the firehouse on Broad Street, and residents of districts four and nine would vote at the Eatontown Public Library meeting room, instead of at Woodmere School.

Schiels reiterated the board's stance that having the general public voting at the schools is a safety and security issue for the students.

At recent council meetings, some council members voiced their opposition to the board's request, stating that the inconvenience to the public would be too great, and that they disagree that the security risks are such that the schools could not be used as polling places.

"It is this board's strong belief that all residents of Eatontown would put the safety of our children before their own convenience," Schiels read. "Recent board actions that have strengthened security at schools, i.e., magnetic card readers on school entrances and required background checks for all volunteers, have been met with approval by the parents of our children."

The security systems that the school district has in place, must be shut down during election days, so as to not impede voters.

"It is required by law that access to the area for voting must be unfettered," Schiels read. "Police presence for security might inhibit voting. Children's schedules are altered [particularly lunch and recreation]. Traffic increases dramatically, bringing people unfamiliar with the property during the start of the school day and dismissal, risking the safety of the children. In essence, there are persons in the general public on the property who, absent the polling place, would be immediately confronted and asked to leave absent legitimate school business. This most important level of security is completely undermined when there is a polling place on the property."

Councilman Theodore Lewis said at the Jan. 24 meeting of the Borough Council, that despite the written request made by Struble to move the polling places to other locations, he would prefer a resolution voted on by the board stating its intent.

The letter from the board stated that any request made by Struble is made on behalf of the board.

In answer to comments made by the council members concerning the inconvenience the change of polling places may present to voters, the letter states that in a 5-square-mile community, no locations would be too remote.

"In a 5-square-mile community," Schiels read, "it seems little to ask to drive, at most, 1.5 miles farther to vote. Certainly, when council ponders a difficult question for the residents, it does not deem it necessary to hold its deliberations at four separate locations for the 'convenience' of the public. Many municipalities throughout this county have locations of polling places a distance greater than the entire length of Eatontown."

A note at the bottom of the letter gives a specific example of one problem that had been encountered by holding elections at the schools.

"One of our principals was contacted by the Board of Elections," it states. "He had a requested a person to move their car because they were interfering with bus pickup and endangering the children. That individual claimed that their 'unfettered' right to vote was interfered with."

Some parents of students in the district were present at the board meeting, and they gave their own reasons for supporting the move of polling places to other locations.

"I am totally backing the board's decision," said Debbie Robinson. "I was outraged when tmy son told me he was in the restroom with some strange man on Election Day."

Dennis Collins, the board attorney, said that ultimately the decision to change polling locations does not rest with the board, and that the council along with the Monmouth County Board of Elections, could decide that the schools must continue to be available to voters on election days.