City schools will be in session on primary day

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Philadelphia schools will be open on primary election day in May to make up for snow days, leaving some officials worried about children's safety.

"It's going to be a mess," said Margaret Tartaglione, who chairs the commissioners who oversee city elections. "There will be thousands of people walking through the schools, and it's dangerous. I got such a headache."

Students have not had school on an election day since at least 2007 because of a policy change suggested by Tartaglione and agreed to by the School District of Philadelphia.

The district is working on a plan to deal with security concerns, spokesman Fernando Gallard said.

"We're not going to do something that is going to be unsafe for our students," he said.

In previous years, the district has had students eat in their classrooms if people were voting in the cafeteria, he said.

Schools make ideal polling places, commissioners said, because they are well-known locations and are typically handicap-accessible. Federal law requires polling places to have such accessibility.

Some measures that make it easier to accommodate large crowds, such as propping open doors, also increase security risks, the City Commissioners Office said.

According to that office, 441 polling places - 26 percent of the city's 1,684 voting divisions - are housed in 197 schools.

The School Reform Commission added four days to the school year to compensate for seven snow days so that students receive the legally mandated 180 days of instruction. The state waived two of the other days, and the district started the year with an extra day on its calendar.

Voter turnout could be heavier than usual for a primary because of the governor's race and the challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.

On March 10, the Committee of Seventy, an election watchdog group, asked the School Reform Commission to reconsider its decision to make one of those extra days May 18, primary election day. That day had originally been scheduled as a teacher in-service day.

"We are also concerned that holding classes on May 18 will jeopardize the safety of the students and school personnel, in addition to voters," Committee of Seventy president Zack Stalberg said in the letter.

In an interview Thursday, however, Stalberg noted that schools have often remained open on election days.

"For decades voters went to schools and kids went to school and everything was just fine," he said.

Douglas Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, said the city was always "concerned about kids' safety," but added, "We respect the right of the School Reform Commission to manage their calendar."