OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia Board of Education member Sheila Hahn spoke against the use of the Wheelock School as a polling site for national elections.

What Board of Education member Aaron Marshall deemed a “once in a lifetime opportunity” has the District reevaluating its school calendar for the current year.

The Fredonia Central School District has discussed the possibility of canceling school on April 8 for District employees because of the upcoming solar eclipse. Students are already off from school on April 8, but employees were scheduled to attend professional development sessions.

“In the feedback from our faculty and staff, many expressed a concern about having a training on that day,” Fredonia Superintendent Dr. Brad Zilliox said.

An alternative for the district is to make a scheduled half-day for students, May 6, into a full professional development day. The move would cost the students half a day of instruction.

High School Principal Darrin Paschke attended a recent meeting with local disaster coordinators regarding the eclipse on behalf of the District. Paschke noted the District parking lot could potentially be utilized as a staging site for emergency vehicles to allow for quick response times. He also noted that traffic issues for out of District staff will be a factor, as well.

Zilliox stated, “The recommendation here is that we would not be in session that day.”

The District also discussed the use of the Wheelock School as a polling center for local and national elections, which the District has done for the past 12 years. Zilliox deemed times when school is not in session, such as spring or summer breaks, to be “acceptable”, but highlighted any election when polling takes place during school hours would be more troubling because of safety and security concerns.

“We just feel like it is really just an unnecessary risk,” Zilliox said. “… We are responsible for the safety of our students. This just seems to be something that isn’t essential that it is done here.”

Board of Education member Sheila Hahn said, “With regard to the national election, it doesn’t even seem like a matter of debate. We’re securing entrances so that people can’t come into the school, yet we’re publicizing a day when it’s a free-for-all and everyone can come with whatever. That, to me, does not make any sense. It should never have been used as a polling place and definitely should not continue to be used.”

Zilliox will meet with County Executive PJ Wendel and other representatives from Chautauqua County on Friday regarding using District facilities as a polling site. Zilliox plans to express the District’s feelings to the County representatives at the March 8 meeting.

“I’m not sure what the County Executive’s position would be based on, but it doesn’t seem to me that that’s his business,” Hahn said.