A bomb threat Tuesday afternoon temporarily closed the polls at Madison East High School, 2222 E. Washington Ave.
Students and voters waited outside the building for three hours after police and school officials called for an evacuation at 11:40 a.m.
According to Madison police Public Information Officer Carlos Valentin, school officials learned of the threat at 9 a.m., and took it ""very seriously."" They called law enforcement to East High shortly thereafter. The Dane County Bomb Squad arrived and determined the school to be safe.
Students, teachers and voters did not re-enter the building until 2:45 p.m. During the scare, city employees hurriedly set up an outdoor polling place. The polls opened for voting at 1:15 p.m.—more than an hour after the evacuation—and remained open until the bomb threat ended at 2:40 p.m.
Madison School District spokesperson Ken Syke said the evacuation was a bother for voters as well as students, who were taken to a nearby athletic field during the extended lunch hour.
""I think everybody was pretty frustrated,"" Syke said. ""Fortunately there was decent weather while the kids were waiting.""
Syke added that the threat was particularly disruptive Tuesday since
East High students were working on Wisconsin standardized tests when the order to leave the building was announced.
East High School has been the site of several scares this fall. A gun threat in October forced the school to go into lockdown mode for a day and another bomb threat last week displaced students for several hours.
Neither Syke nor Valentin would say whether a student made yesterday's bomb threat. However, Valentin said the investigation is ongoing and that police are offering rewards of up to $1,000 for information about the threat. Also, the voting deadline for the 32nd ward was extended to 9 p.m. to make up for the lost hour.
