ALACHUA COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) officials say ballots are being delivered this week to parents and teachers who plan to vote on the conversion of schools in Newberry to charter schools.

Parents get the chance to vote on whether to convert Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle School, and Newberry High School.

ACPS says in addition to the ballot, parents will receive instructions for how to complete and submit their ballot by mail or in person. You can also view instructions for each school in English and Spanish here.

The voting window runs from Friday, April 5, through Friday, April 12, and does not include the weekend.

Hours for in-person voting have also been extended and are as follows:

Newberry Elementary School
Location: Portable 99-053, west of campus behind cafeteria
Dates/Times:
– April 5, 9, 11/7:15: a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
– April 8, 10, 12/7:15 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Oak View Middle School
Location: Portable 3, south of front parking lot
Dates/Times:
– April 5, 9, 11/7:00: a.m. to 4 p.m.
– April 8, 10, 12/7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Newberry High School
Location: Ticket booth at football field
Dates/Times:
– April 5, 9, 11/7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
– April 8, 10, 12/7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The school district says parents have also been provided with a self-addressed stamped envelope if they decide to mail in their ballot. ACPS says mailed-in ballots mut be postmarked no later than April 12 and received by the school before it closes on April 16 to be counted.

“Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton is providing the required ballot boxes and two staff members for each school to supervise the boxes and the voting process for all six voting dates,” added ACPS in a release. “Also, in keeping with state law, the ballots will be counted by an independent arbitrator jointly selected by the school district and the citizens who requested the conversion vote.”

ACPS also shared that there are strict rules they must follow in order to protect the integrity of the voting process.

|READ MORE: Dates set for vote for three Alachua County Schools’ possible conversion to charter schools

According to the school district, the count will take place during a public meeting held on April 17 at 8:30 a.m. at the Mentholee Norfleet Municipal Building in Newberry.