CSD Students Won’t Be In School on Election Day This Year
Decatur Metro | April 13, 2016 | 11:47 am
You may recall back in our Super Tuesday open thread that a commenter expressed concern about schools being open and simultaneously acting as polling places that are open to the public on voting days.
Now CSD has announced it will move a Professional Learning Day in November, to coincide with Election Day, so students aren’t in school. Superintendent Dude wrote on Facebook late yesterday…
The 2016-17 Calendar has been updated with one small change; the professional learning day previously scheduled for Nov. 1st has been moved to Nov. 8th in order to coincide with election day. This change will allow our schools to serve as polling places without students being present. The 2016-17 school year will still start 8/1/16 and end 5/26/17.
So all the students will be at the Professional Learning Day with their parents….. who will also have to find time to vote that day as well? Sounds legit.
I’m trying to figure out your point. That the polling places will still have kids around–not as students but because their parents have to bring them to the polls if they are young? So what? It’s just for a short period, right? That parents will have to take the day off? But that’s true for any professional work day, right? Professional work days can be inconvenient for working parents but that’s true any day, right? Or is it that it’s hard to vote if you also have to cover child care? I guess so, but I’ve never had a problem dragging a kid or two along to the polls. Voting is a good thing to model. And parents could team up to cover for one another..
I think the issue was some parents were not comfortable with the pubic having open access to parts of the school during the day while their children were present in classes. In our era of fear, people were nervous about who could just slip right into the building.
I think I understand the initial concern but still not his point. I can’t tell if he’s for this or against it or why.
CSD students have had no school for previous presidential election days–I actually assumed that they’d be off for the upcoming Election Day. And they are just moving the day off from one day to another, not adding one. Usually the rec center and other places have day camps.
I have taken my kids with me to vote on numerous occasions, but there usually isn’t a long wait time at my polling place even in presidential election years.
At WP the voting is in the cafeteria so that seems pretty inconvenient.
Thanks for the update! This is great news.
No day off after Halloween…boo!
I admit when I saw the note about a schedule change I thought my prayers of not starting school on MONDAY AUGUST 1st were answered. Oh well. This November switch is common sense.
CONFESSION: I haven’t thought about this issue or any of your comments because I can’t get past the horrific parking job of that car in the picture.
Right on, Crambone