Aaron Proctor recall, Whitepine School District, Idaho (2020)

• Recall efforts
  • Recall efforts by state
  • Recall efforts by office
  • Recall efforts by year
  • Upcoming recall elections
• Local recalls
  • City council recalls
  • Mayoral recalls
  • County commission recalls
  • County official recalls
  • School board recalls
  • Sheriff recalls
  • Special district recalls
• State and federal recalls
  • State executive recalls
  • State legislator recalls
  • U.S. Congress recalls
• Laws governing recall
  • States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
  • States that require grounds for recalls
• Analysis
  • What are recalls?
  • Recall terms
  • Analysis (2010-present)
  • 2025 mid-year analysis
  • 2024 year-end analysis
  • 2024 mid-year analysis
  • 2023 year-end analysis
  • 2023 mid-year analysis
  • 2022 year-end analysis
  • 2022 mid-year analysis
  • 2021 year-end analysis
  • 2021 mid-year analysis
  • 2020 year-end analysis
  • 2020 mid-year analysis
  • 2019 year-end analysis
  • 2019 mid-year analysis
  • 2018 year-end analysis
  • 2018 mid-year analysis
  • 2017 year-end analysis
  • 2017 mid-year analysis
  • 2016 year-end analysis
  • 2016 mid-year analysis

Whitepine School District recall
Officeholders
Aaron Proctor
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
November 3, 2020
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

A recall election seeking to remove Aaron Proctor from his position as the Zone 3 representative of the Whitepine School District board of trustees in Idaho was approved by voters on November 3, 2020.

The effort began after the board voted 3-1 on August 11, 2020, to require face coverings in classrooms and on buses whenever social distancing is not feasible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proctor was one of the three members who voted in favor of the requirement. A survey sent to parents in the Whitepine School District showed approximately 62% of parents were against the district requiring face coverings when social distancing is not feasible, and 67% of parents were against requiring face coverings at all times.

To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.

Recall vote

Aaron Proctor recall, 2020

Aaron Proctor lost the Whitepine Joint School District board of trustees Zone 3 recall election on November 3, 2020.

			Recall  Vote	%	Votes
		✖	Yes	57.3	130
			No	42.7	97
			Total Votes		227

---

It has been certified. Source

Recall supporters

The recall effort was started by Tawnya Whitcomb, a parent in the district. She said she started the effort due to Proctor's decision to ignore what parents wanted. “Basically, as a zone member on the school board, he should have been listening to the community, and that’s not what happened,” Whitcomb said. “I don’t feel represented by our (school board) member.”

The recall supporters filed the following statement that appeared on the ballot:

“

A survey of parents of school aged children within the District was conducted by the Board of Trustees and Mr. Proctor failed to represent the desires expressed by the parents in the survey in determining the manner in which children would attend school in the upcoming year; Mr. Proctor put his personal feelings ahead of the wishes of his constituents; Mr. Proctor has conducted himself in an unprofessional manner on social media using language and posts that are not appropriate for a member of the School Board of Trustees; Quality of the education of the children in the District is compromised as a result of his actions

”

Recall opponents

Proctor responded to the recall effort with the following statement that appeared on the ballot:

“

In sixteen years as trustee, I’ve always made decisions based on two things: What is best for students, and appropriate management of District finances. The Board, Administration and teachers worked collaboratively to develop our reopening plan using Federal, State and local health agency recommendations; Idaho School Boards Association guidance; and parent and staff surveys. Our plan prioritizes maintaining in-person instruction as long as possible, student and staff safety, and maintaining high education standards. It includes mask requirements when social distancing isn’t possible – specifically recommended by the Director at Public Health – Idaho North Central District. Because masks are unpopular, it also includes accommodations like smaller class sizes to minimize the time masks are necessary. These minimal precautions help keep students and teachers in the classroom, decrease risk of COVID-19 transmission, and potentially reduce adverse effects positive COVID-19 cases would have on our ability to stay open. They also provide some protections from lawsuits should an outbreak or death occur. Trustees have a responsibility to provide safe and healthy learning environment for our students. It’s unfortunate minimizing the chances of a student or staff member catching and possibly dying from COVID-19 is controversial, but it is undoubtedly the right thing to do.

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho

The recall effort was approved for the November 3 ballot after 59 petition signatures from registered voters in Zone 3 were verified.

Recalls related to the coronavirus

See also: Recalls related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and government responses to the pandemic

Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.

The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

2020 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.

The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.

Related recalls

• Idaho Falls School District 91 recall, Idaho (2020)
• Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall, Idaho (2020)
• West Ada School District recall, Idaho (2020)

See also

• Whitepine School District, Idaho
• Recall campaigns in Idaho
• Political recall efforts, 2020
• School board recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Whitepine Joint School District
• Latah County Elections Office

Footnotes

Political recall elections

Recalls
by year

Upcoming recalls • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • Historical recalls • Recall statistics and analysis

Recalls
by office

Governors • State legislators • County officials • County commission • Sheriffs • Mayors • City officials • City council • School board • Special district

Recalls
by state

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • District of Columbia • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Recall
laws

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • District of Columbia • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Kansas • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Rhode Island • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming • States that require grounds for recalls • States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls