Board pushes back on 10-year polling-site MOA; favors shorter term and clearer cost-sharing

The Liberty County Board of Education discussed a proposed memorandum of agreement to let the Liberty County Career Academy serve as a polling location after the district's Waterville site was sold.

Arnold Jackson told the board the Liberty County Board of Elections had surveyed the area and found the Career Academy was the only facility with required capacity; the MOA staff presented was written for a 10-year term and would allow the Board of Education to terminate the agreement with 365 days' written notice. Jackson said the elections office plans to hold the November election at the Career Academy site and that staff provided a list of agencies that use district facilities; staff indicated no immediate fiscal impact to the request.

Several trustees raised concerns about the proposed 10-year term and a requirement to give a year's notice to terminate. One trustee said the district must often open facilities at early hours and that custodial and security staffing for an election imposes real costs; another asked whether the county or elections office would reciprocate and share costs when the district uses other county facilities. "When I saw the 10 years on here, I didn't pay attention to that — it concerned me because we have to give them a year's notice," a board member said.

During discussion the board settled on directing staff to pursue a shorter term and to negotiate notice and cost-recovery provisions; several members suggested a three-year MOA and a six-month notice period would be more appropriate. Staff said they would include operational security details, custodial staffing numbers and invoicing practices in the next draft for board consideration.

Next steps: staff will return with a revised MOA that reflects the board's guidance on term length, notice and cost-reciprocity and will supply cost estimates for custodial and security coverage needed on election days.