Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) were closed on election day, although teachers and school staff reported for “teacher workdays.” In essence, LCPS gives the school facilities over to the local electoral board, poll workers and voters, all with the idea that "less is more:" no students, fewer cars in the parking lot, and greater accessibility for voters.
That theory worked fine on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, at most Loudoun school polling places. But no so initially at Smart’s Mill Middle School, and to a lesser extent at Francis Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg.
The first call reporting trouble came in shortly after 7 a.m. from a precinct captain at Smart’s Mill regarding access and parking issues at the school. Calls from voters followed. It seems the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was paving Route 15 and creating traffic backups; and then LCPS was conducting in-service training for school bus drivers.
The combination of these two activities compromised voters’ ability to access the school, and once on school property, to find a place to park in order to go inside and vote. Parking at the Francis Hazel Reid Elementary voting precinct with a registered voter roll of 3,500 was also compromised, accommodating overflow parking from Smart’s Mill, which has a registered voter roll of 2,800.
In a telephone interview with the Independent Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of the Loudoun County Electoral Board Dianna Price explained that since the complaints regarding access came in before LCPS opened, a call was placed to the State Board of Elections.
“We answer to a higher authority,” Price said of the call to state officials. Subsequently LCPS Asst. Superintendent Support Services Jeffrey Platenberg intervened, and cancelled the in-service training. The buses were removed, opening up more parking spaces. “By 8:55 a.m. everything was back to normal,” at Smart’s Mill, Price said. However, VDOT continued with paving on Route 15. Plattenburg said LCPS coordinates with the local electoral board and prepares for election day, although election day remains a workday for teachers and in-service training for LCPS employees.
julia@loudouni.com
Bunch of bumbling idiots. Why do we pay these people ?
They obviosly are not the brightest bulbs . Election day is ALWAYS the first Tuesday of November.
Duh.