By: Dick Brinster
With the fate of a $77.4 million school budget and accompanying ballot questions a major concern for officials in the East Windsor Regional District, the Board of Education has decided to open the polls two hours earlier on April 17.
After discussing past problems at polling places and hearing a prediction by Superintendent Ron Bolandi that voter turnout will be heavier than usual, the school board voted March 29 to set the hours from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The board is asking voters to approve three ballot questions in addition to the budget. One would finance 13 teaching positions removed from the budget and another would put back non-mandated transportation, sub-varsity sports and middle school intramurals. Those questions total $1.6 million.
A third question would permit the district to launch an all-day kindergarten program for $1.5 million.
In the wake of defeated budgets the last two years, Mr. Bolandi said mistakes on Election Day must be avoided.
"The state already has disenfranchised the community by $4 million," he said, alluding to the amount of money initially lost as a result of a pending state cap on tax revenue.
The district received a waiver Thursday that allowed it to get back about $2 million.
"I would hate to disenfranchise the community by the voting process," Mr. Bolandi added.
He said the normal hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. probably would not be sufficient this year, especially in view of the ballot questions he figures will require additional time on the part of each voter.
"I think a lot of people are going to vote, and I wouldn’t want to make it worse for them," Mr. Bolandi said.
Board members and residents said confusion at the polls has been a problem, particularly last year, when voters turned down a $79 million spending measure.
"It was a mess," board President Alice Weisman said of the voting process.
The Melvin H. Kreps Middle School, one of five locations at which ballots will be cast this year, emerged as the poster child for voter inconvenience in 2006.
Board member Ric Perez said confusion there resulted in people waiting as long as 45 minutes to vote. He called it a chaotic situation.
"There was a tremendous amount of ineptitude basically on the part of the individuals that are telling people what lines they’re supposed to be in," Mr. Perez said. "The signage was not clear."
That also was troublesome to Chuck Rowley of East Windsor.
"The signage was the No. 1 problem," he said at the March 29 school board meeting, explaining that many people would discover after a long wait that they were in the wrong line.
Many-Ellen Burns of East Windsor characterized her experience at Kreps as "awful" and confusing. She said people were disheartened to learn that they were standing in the wrong line.
"I really think what we need are a couple of maps, like a bus route," she said.
She suggested a half-day of school, but Mr. Bolandi said that would not be necessary. The Kreps dismissal time is 2:45 p.m.
He said he does have security concerns because many people can enter school buildings while classes are still in session. But, he said, those overlaps will be brief at all the schools.
Mr. Bolandi first stated security concerns last November, before the General Election and shortly after the district was one six of targeted by a suicidal man who threatened in letters violence akin to his massacre of five children a few days earlier at a schoolhouse in Pennsylvania.
"For security purposes, we’ve asked them to move the High School polling place from the old lobby to the back annex area," Mr. Bolandi said March 29 of a request to county election officials. "We would be able to cordon that off and keep them away from the children."
He said changes also would be made at other polling places, with new gymnasiums to be used at the Kreps and the Ethel McKnight schools. He said the music room will continue to be used at the Drew school.
The other polling place is in the auditorium at the Meadow Lakes retirement community.
Voters in East Windsor are certain to re-elect Bob Laverty and Bonnie Fayer, the only candidates for three three-year terms.
Mr. Perez did not seek re-election, meaning a write-in candidate could fill the final seat. If there is no write-in winner, the board would interview candidates.
