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Bering Strait School District recall, Alaska (1983-1984)
| Bering Strait School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Francis Degnan R.R. Blodgett Don Jackson Howard Lincoln Clifford Weyiounna Joseph Noongwook John Cheemuk Roger Nassuk Jonah Tokeinna Herbert Appassingok |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 1984 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Chuck Degnan, Francis Degnan, R.R. Blodgett, Don Jackson, Howard Lincoln, Clifford Weyiounna, Joseph Noongwook, John Cheemuk, Roger Nassuk, Jonah Tokeinna, and Herbert Appassingok from their positions on the Bering Strait School District school board began in 1983.[1]
In Meiners v. Bering Strait School District, the Alaska Supreme Court held that recall statutes should be liberally construed.[1]
Ballotpedia was unable to determine the outcome of this recall effort. If you have information about this recall, please contact us.
Recall supporters
The recall petition read as follows:[1]
| “ |
We the undersigned, as registered voters in the Bering Strait School District, petition the commision [sic] of elections to hold a recall election for the eleven members of the Bering Strait School Board. The present members are: Chuck Degnan, Francis Degnan, R.R. Blodgett, Don Jackson, Howard Lincoln, Clifford Weyiounna, Joseph Noongwook, John Cheemuk, Roger Nassuk, Jonah Tokeinna, Herbert Appassingok. We cite the failure of the present board to perform the prescribed duties of their office. 1. We cite the failure to control the administrative practices of superintendent Ron Hohman. The superintendent has made large appropriation of district funds on his own judgement for non-district, non-student, and non-educational programs. An example is a $230,000 appropriation to the adventure based education program of another school district. A trip by Bethel students to London, a play by the Bethel theater group and other monies spent around the state benefited no students from the Bering Strait School District. The State of Alaska Department of Education has ruled that this money was spent in a totally inappropriate manner. Our board has failed to hold the superintendent responsible for these monies. We also cite alledged [sic] coercive and illegal means used by the superintendent to prompt his staff to perform activities of a non-educational manner including circulation of a statement of support among teachers, and use of district staff to promote his own election bid for a national position. 2. We cite the failure of the school board to provide full and open communication between themselves and the voters of the district. The board has failed under state statutes to provide its constituents adequate notice of school board meetings and functions. The board has failed under the common rules of order to set time and date of the next meeting while in regular session. The board has also failed to provide adequate public disclosure of minutes. The board has only met in regular session four times from June 1982 through the 1st of April 1983 a period of eleven months, yet the board publicly claims that policy calls for monthly meetings. The board has also failed to provide the public access to the board agenda. At the last regular meeting held on April 7, 1983 a petition containing over three hundred names as well as resolutions passed by a majority of the A.E.C./P.A.C. members in our district calling for the removal of Ron Hohman from his position was denied the right to be added to the agenda by Chairman Chuck Degnan. 3. The board has failed to deal with allegations of conflict of interest and unethical behavior among its members and board. According to common law public officials must not give the appearance of personal gain from holding a position on a board. Yet Chairman Chuck Degnan publicly claims to be "paid" twenty thousand plus dollars per year for his position. R.R. Blodgett's business concerns conduct massive amounts of business with the school district. Also R.R. Blodgett made an abusive and derogatory phone call to a concerned parent in February of 1982 and the board was asked to conduct a complete investigation into the matter and this order of business has never been officially addressed by the board. This petition begins its circulation on April 11, 1983 and all signatures will be secured within the sixty days prescribed by law. [2] |
” |
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Bering Strait School District, Alaska
- Recall campaigns in Alaska
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alaska Supreme Court, Meiners v. Bering Strait School Dist., July 27, 1984
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
