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A. Jeremy Hoenack recall, Litchfield Elementary School District, Arizona (2021-2022)
| Litchfield Elementary School District recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall A. Jeremy Hoenack from his position on the Litchfield Elementary School District Governing Board did not go to a vote in 2022. The effort failed to qualify for the ballot.[1]
The recall effort began in September 2021. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 6,856 signatures by January 27, 2022.[2]
A separate recall effort against board members Kimberly Moran and Melissa Zuidema failed to qualify for the ballot in 2021. Click here to read about that effort.
Recall supporters
The application for recall petition against Hoenack included the following grounds for recall:[3]
| “ |
Mr. Hoenack was involved in the production of two films that prominently featured child nudity or pornography: "The Genesis Children" containing extended scenes of underage nudity, and "Sweet Sweetback's Baaadassss Song" showing simulated sex with an underage Mario Van Peebles. Mr Hoenack worked with Lyric Films, which the US Department of Justice called the first child pornography ring brought into public light. August "Jeremy" Hoenack has created a hostile environment for district employees, staff, and other board members. He harassed another board member, who has since resigned. He intimidates, harasses, and bullies parents and community members who disagree with him, filing legal actions to suppress their free speech.[4] |
” |
Recall opponents
Hoenack sent Ballotpedia the following response to the recall effort:[5]
| “ | Since being seated, Jeremy Hoenack is the only board member who has consistently voted to improve academics. He discovered and blew the whistle on Litchfield ESD illegally concealing their implementation of Critical Race Theory. As a result, the Arizona Attorney General found that Litchfield’s board and superintendent violated open meeting laws by concealing a committee that created the Equity Statement. The AZ AG also found that Litchfield’s attorney and board lied to silence Hoenack by falsely claiming that he was not sticking to the agenda when he was. Mr. Hoenack has an award winning film career with over 240 film credits with every major studio. He has never worked on a pornographic film or for a company that was producing pornography. Melvin Van Peebles “Sweet Sweet back” was designated by the Library of Congress for preservation as a Culturally Significant Film. “Genesis Children” was described as “benign” by the president of the Motion Picture Rating Association. Hoenack did limited film editing on both films when he was 21 years old, over 50 years ago. Hoenack has never harassed anyone or limited anyone’s free speech. Instead he has enlightened board members to vote to improve academics and to deny further funds for “Conscious Discipline”. Jeremy Hoenack will continue to compel schools to fulfill their #1 duty – to teach English, math and logical thinking.[4] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
Recall supporters filed the application for recall on September 29, 2021. To get the recall on the ballot, they would have had to collect 6,856 signatures by January 27, 2022.[2]
About the district
Litchfield Elementary School District is located in Maricopa County, Arizona. It is classified as a mid-sized suburban school district by the National Center for Education Statistics. The district served 11,566 students during the 2018-2019 school year and comprised 18 schools.[6]
During the 2018-2019 school year, 30.7% of the district's students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 3.3% were English language learners, and 11.0% of students had an Individual Education Plan (IEP).[7]
| Racial Demographics, 2018-2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Litchfield Elementary School District (%) | Arizona K-12 students (%) |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.8 | 4.5 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Black | 6.8 | 5.5 |
| Hispanic | 40.8 | 45.6 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Two or More Races | 4.6 | 3.3 |
| White | 43.3 | 37.8 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
2022 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.
The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.
2021 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.
The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Litchfield Elementary School District, Arizona
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Litchfield Elementary School District
- Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Recall Elections," accessed January 28, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Recall Elections," accessed October 12, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Application for Recall Petition Serial Number: August Jeremy Hoenack," accessed October 12, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with A. Jeremy Hoenack," October 16, 2021
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Search for Public School Districts," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," accessed March 8, 2021
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