YORK COUNTY, Pa. — As election season looms, polling locations are preparing for voters, but some community members warn elections in the Keystone State are now threatening Keystone testing in York County schools.
Community members in the Dover Area School District said using schools as polling locations could have negative effects on the school system as a whole.
Maria Wertz, a grandparent of students in DASD, says she doesn’t have a problem with local municipalities using the schools as polling locations as long as it doesn’t interfere with student education.
“Think about it, you’re going in for a test…you know part two is going to be the second day, well you’re off that day, so you’re not thinking about it,” Wertz said, which she feels isn’t fair to the students after months of preparation.
Other community members argue that it’s not just students who would be impacted. Keystone testing in the district is the basis for student academic levels, teacher evaluations and overall school district performance ratings.
Some community members proposed compromises at the Oct. 15 meeting; one suggestion was to let the parents decide. This includes counting election days as excused absences for parents who are for closing schools while keeping the buildings open for instruction for those who are against the decision.
However, Wertz says this would cause inconsistency, which would also disrupt testing.
“As far as using the schools for in-service days or anything like that, the kids are still going to miss the test, and that’s not fair to them,” Wertz said.
While some board members agree that the school’s primary focus should be in the best interest of the students and staff, school board President David Conley argues that the school must also consider matters in the community when making decisions, stating that it takes a partnership.
“That broadens our discussion, it's not just about the students,” Conley said.
After more than 30 minutes of discussion and amending the proposal, the board voted against using schools as polling locations and closing schools on election days for the 2025-2026 school year. But that doesn’t mean the issue is gone for good.
Local municipalities can still request the use of schools as polling locations in the future. Since no decision was reached about how the district plans to handle testing schedule conflicts, community members say the issue will come up again.