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Bob Benevento recall, Morgan Hill Unified School District, California (2016)
| Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Bob Benevento from the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees in California did not make it to the ballot. The group orchestrating the recall effort did not submit petitions by the deadline on February 19, 2016.[1]
The recall group was approved to circulate petitions in October 2015.[2] At issue was the board's decision to move sixth grade students out of the majority of the district's elementary schools and into middle schools. The supporters were mostly parents of district students. They said they targeted Benevento due to his rude treatment of those who disagreed with him and his inability to heed the community's opinion.[3][4]
Benevento was appointed to the board in 2011 and elected in 2012. His term was up for election in November 2016.[4]
Recall supporters
The group Parents for Positive Change led the recall effort against Benevento. Rob Guynn, an initial leader of the group, said they were concerned with transparency, open meetings and the behavior of board members.[4][5] Guynn also said that Benevento, along with other board members, did not take the public's opinion into account on key issues in the district. He accused them of only listening to Superintendent Steve Betando.[6]
The recall notice also mentioned the board's 4-3 decision to change the location of the district's sixth grade classes. They previously resided in the district's elementary schools, but the vote moved them to middle schools. Several parents spoke in opposition to the change at the board meeting the day of the vote, but four members, including Benevento, approved the change.[6]
Benevento's term was up in November 2016, but recall supporters said they did not want to wait until then. They said that recalling him before November would give the board a chance to reverse the decision on sixth grade classes.[7]
Recall opponents
Benevento called the recall petition "wrong on the facts, extremely costly and bad for our schools."[2] He disputed the accusations from Parents for Positive Change. He said he made decisions for the district based on his experience, which included more than 40 years of public service with different agencies. “The public is much broader than just the 20 or so people attending the school board meetings with their own agenda,” said Benevento.[6]
On the subject of relocating sixth grade classes from elementary schools to middle schools, Benevento said he supported the decision based on overcrowding at the elementary schools. He said he also supported the relocation due to changes in academic content, staffing issues, financial concerns and the better facilities available for students at the district's middle schools.[6]
Background
Amy Porter-Jensen resigned from her position on the school board on October 28, 2015, after she filed a restraining order against Rob Guynn, a former leader of the recall effort who stepped away from the movement after he was served with court papers. She said she had "received several concerning non-district related emails from Mr. Guynn, some in the middle of the night, along with a disturbing phone call." She said the incidents with Guynn contributed to her resignation. "I feared for my safety, and made a tough decision that I believe is in my best interest due to these circumstances,” said Porter-Jensen.[5][8]
Due to the restraining order, Guynn had to stay at least 100 yards away from Porter-Jensen, as well as her home residence and place of work. He was also not allowed to have contact with her in any way. Guynn called the restraining order "bogus" and said, "I am falsely accused. It’s just a way of shutting me up by the district office.”[5]
A hearing on the restraining order was held on November 17, 2015.[5] It was dismissed, however, when Porter-Jensen failed to appear at the hearing or to send a representative in her place. Armando Benavides, an attorney and member of Parents For Positive Change, said the group could now continue to focus on the recall election. “We do not condone any harassment but we also believe in being innocent until proven guilty,” said Benavides.[8]
Porter-Jensen was one of the four board members who voted to change the location of the district's sixth grade classes. Like Benevento, she was elected in 2012 and would have been up for re-election in November 2016. After Porter-Jensen announced her resignation, an anonymous user on the recall effort's Facebook page commented, "ONE DOWN; ONE TO GO.”[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Benevento was served papers to notify him of the recall attempt on September 15, 2015.[4] The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters gave the recall effort the go ahead to circulate petitions on October 22, 2015. Recall supporters had 120 days to collect 6,300 signatures from registered voters in the district.[2][3] The group did not submit petitions before the deadline, which ended the recall effort against Benevento.[1] If the recall had gone to the ballot, it would have cost the district an estimated $503,000.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Bob Benevento' recall 'Morgan Hill Unified School District' California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Morgan Hill Unified School District, California
- Morgan Hill Unified School District elections (2014)
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Morgan Hill Times, "Recall movement against board president is officially over," February 23, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 San Jose Mercury News, "Morgan Hill: Recall launched against trustee," October 22, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Silicon Valley News, "Effort being launched to recall Morgan Hill Unified School Board president Bob Benevento," September 17, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Mercury News, "Parents seek to recall president of Morgan Hill school board," September 17, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Morgan Hill Times, "Former MHUSD trustee files restraining order against one-time recall leader," October 29, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Morgan Hill Times, "MHUSD Board President served with recall paperwork," September 17, 2015
- ↑ KLIV 1590 Silican Valley News, "Petition to recall Morgan Hill School Board president Bob Benevento being passed around," October 23, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Morgan Hill Times, "Harassment case dismissed against community activist," November 17, 2015
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "California: Morgan Hill School Board President facing petitions," September 18, 2015
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