Britton Deerfield Schools recall, Michigan (2018)

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Britton Deerfield School Board of Education recall
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Officeholders
Ben Allshouse
Yvonne Thomas
Brian Bartush
Doug Mayher Jr.
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
November 6, 2018
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2018
Recalls in Michigan
Michigan recall laws
School board recalls
Recall reports

A recall election seeking to remove four of the seven members of the Britton Deerfield Schools Board of Education in Michigan was approved by voters on November 6, 2018. Board vice president Ben Allshouse, board secretary Yvonne Thomas, board treasurer Brian Bartush, and board member Doug Mayher Jr. were voted out of office.[1][2]

The four members were targeted for recall after the board voted 6-0 to not renew the contract of former high school principal John Eisley on April 28, 2018. Recall supporters also listed the board's failure to post meeting minutes in a timely manner as a reason for the recall effort.[3]

The targeted board members said they could not discuss the reasons behind their decision to not renew Eisley's contract. They also said that board meeting minutes were available at the school district office.[3]

Allshouse, Thomas, Bartush, and Mayher were joined in voting to not renew Eisley's contract by board President Todd Ost and board member Doug Armstrong. The seventh member of the board, Brian Delmotte, was absent from the meeting.[4] Recall supporters said the other three members of the board were not targeted for recall because they were up for regular election in November 2018. Recall supporters said they had candidates ready to run against them in the general election.[3]

Recall vote

Brian K. Bartush Recall Election,
Britton Deerfield Schools, 2018
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJim Mueller 40.4% 564
     Nonpartisan Marcie VanBlack 39.6% 553
     Nonpartisan Brian K. Bartush Incumbent 19.1% 266
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.9% 13
Total Votes 1,396
Source: Lenawee County Elections, "November 6, 2018 General Election OFFICIAL Results," accessed November 30, 2018


Benjamin Allshouse Recall Election,
Britton Deerfield Schools, 2018
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngLinda Emery Wielfaert 49.6% 691
     Nonpartisan Matt B. Perkins 32.5% 453
     Nonpartisan Benjamin Allshouse Incumbent 16.7% 233
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.1% 15
Total Votes 1,392
Source: Lenawee County Elections, "November 6, 2018 General Election OFFICIAL Results," accessed November 30, 2018


Douglas Mayher Jr. Recall Election,
Britton Deerfield Schools, 2018
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngCassandra Kormos 44.1% 611
     Nonpartisan Lee A. Hoffman 41.5% 575
     Nonpartisan Douglas Mayher Jr. Incumbent 13.1% 182
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.2% 17
Total Votes 1,385
Source: Lenawee County Elections, "November 6, 2018 General Election OFFICIAL Results," accessed November 30, 2018


Yvonne Thomas Recall Election,
Britton Deerfield Schools, 2018
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJamie M. Logan 42.4% 577
     Nonpartisan Shannon Miller 40.3% 548
     Nonpartisan Yvonne Thomas Incumbent 16.3% 222
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1% 14
Total Votes 1,361
Source: Lenawee County Elections, "November 6, 2018 General Election OFFICIAL Results," accessed November 30, 2018

Recall supporters

The recall effort was started by Greg Gaw. On the petitions, he listed the board's vote to not renew Eisley's contract and the board's failure to post meeting minutes in a timely manner—which Gaw said was a violation of the Michigan Open Meetings Act—as the reasons for the recall effort.[3]

Gaw said he started the effort after speaking with school district community members who said they felt that board members were not meeting expectations.[3]

Gaw also mentioned that there was concern over updating the district's curriculum, falling enrollment, lack of diversity in afterschool activities, and the budget. “We’re on a state watchlist for funds. It’s public record to see that we’re spending more than we’re bringing in. It’s the board’s job to stop that,” Gaw said.[3]

Recall opponents

At a clarity hearing for the recall petitions on June 22, 2018, board secretary Yvonne Thomas said that the board's meeting minutes were kept at the school office and available to anyone. Board treasurer Brian Bartush said that Michigan law did not require school board meeting minutes to be posted online. “They are not posted to the website on a regular schedule,” Thomas said. “They are posted as a courtesy.”[3]

The board members also said they could not discuss the vote to not renew Eisley's contract. “When we make decisions based on documents that can’t be shared for specific reasons, how can that be the basis for a recall?” Thomas said.[3]

“Being a school board member, you try to do the best job for the school board,” board member Doug Mayher Jr. said. “Instead of asking questions and trying to find out, it’s easier to file a petition.”[3]

Superintendent Stacey Johnson spoke in support of the board's stewardship of the district. “This board has done more work in the last two years than any school district I’ve worked in,” Johnson said. “We would have been closed, probably two years ago, had the board not done the work that they needed to do.”[3]

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan

The recall petitions were approved by the Lenawee County Election Commission at a clarity hearing on June 22, 2018. The targeted board members had 10 days to challenge the commission's decision.[3]

To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to submit 311 signatures from registered voters (equal to 25 percent of the votes cast in the 2014 gubernatorial election in the school district) to the county. The signatures had to be gathered within 60 days of each other.[3] Recall supporters submitted the signatures to the county in August 2018, and the county verified enough signatures to schedule the recall election for November 6, 2018.[1][5]

2018 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

A total of 33 school board recall efforts nationwide were covered by Ballotpedia in 2018. They included 74 board members. Twelve recall elections were held in 2018. The school board recall success rate was 28.4%.

Of the 12 efforts that made it to the ballot in 2018, eight were approved and the 20 targeted members were removed from office. Another two recall elections were defeated, and the targeted members kept their seats. One effort saw a mix of results: three members retained their seats, while the fourth was removed from his. Another recall election was held after the board member resigned. Her replacement was elected through the recall. The chart below details the status of 2018 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

External links

Footnotes