In its last meeting of the calendar year, the Brighton Board of Education unanimously approved an amendment to administrative policy which assures that local municipalities may use district buildings for elections.

Although the district has allowed the use of its facilities as election sites in the past, it was felt by the board that the practice should be formalized in writing and codified as part of district policy.

Superintendent Greg Gray tells WHMI the Brighton Area Schools believes it’s the district’s responsibility to provide its school buildings, which were funded by local taxpayer dollars, as polling locations for local governments such as townships and cities to use in elections. Gray says the district has its own safety plan in place which provides security for elections, a responsibility he says the district takes “very seriously.”

Green Oak Township had been considering a lawsuit against the South Lyon School District for allegedly saying local municipalities whose boundaries lie within the school district could no longer use its school buildings for elections, citing safety reasons. However, officials there say the district has since done an about-face and is now denying that it ever made such a statement. (JM)