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Board denies Town of Sidney's request to use Bean School for Nov. 3 voting
Summary
After hours of testimony and legal questions about deadlines and student safety, RSU 18 voted to deny the Town of Sidney's request to use James H. Bean School as a polling place for the Nov. 3 election.
After an extended public hearing and debate, the RSU 18 School Board voted to deny the Town of Sidney's request to use James H. Bean School as a polling place for the Nov. 3, 2026 election.
Town officials outlined logistical constraints that led them to seek use of the school. Macy Eubank, the town clerk and registrar of voters for Sidney, told the board the town has "3,335 active registered voters" and described secretary-of-state rules for polling layouts, ADA-compliant accessible voting stations and tabulator placement that make the town office too small for higher-turnout elections. Eubank said those standards require multiple voting tables and additional space for registrars, petitioners and walkways.
Board members and staff responded that RSU 18 policy places the educational mission and student safety first. "For student safety reasons ... the students have to be out of the school if voting occurs there," a board member stated while outlining policy KFB and KFB-1 that limit hours of community use and do not provide a mechanism for the board to override those policies without a formal policy-review process. Members also noted alternatives the board had identified, including a local music center that said it would accommodate voting and a donor who offered to cover some associated costs.
Facing calendar constraints and statutory timelines for applying to the secretary of state for a changed or consolidated voting place, the board considered whether feasible alternatives could be implemented in time. After discussion, a motion "to deny the request for the town of Sydney to use the James H. Bean School for voting on 11/03/2026" was moved (identified in the transcript as moved by "Heather" and seconded by Andy) and the presiding officer announced the motion carried.
The transcript captures the vote outcome but does not provide a roll-call tally in the provided excerpt. The board recorded the denial of the request and directed staff to continue discussing alternative arrangements and compliance steps with the town.
Why it matters: The decision prioritizes uninterrupted student instruction and adherence to existing facility-use policies while recognizing the town's logistical challenges; it also highlights statutory deadlines that constrain last-minute venue changes for statewide elections.
