Carol Gordon recall, Vallecito Union School District, California (2014)
| Vallecito Union School District recall |
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2014 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Carol Gordon from the Vallecito Union Board of Trustees was first discussed in June 2014, but was abandoned.[1] No signatures were submitted by the deadline of November 12, 2014. At a June meeting of the board, fellow board member Ralph Emerson asked Gordon to resign her seat following multiple reports of erratic behavior. Gordon refused to resign following which an investigation into her behavior was launched. Shon Davidsen compiled a 10-page report outlining Gordon's disruptive behavior. Davidsen stated in the report, "Gordon is unable to discharge the important duties of her office due to an unknown mental incapacity that severely affects her judgment and behaviors. If Gordon fails to resign her office, her continued association with the district will only result in further embarrassment and erosion of the community’s trust in the district, which will ultimately lead to further concern for their children’s safety." At the September 17, 2014, board meeting, the other four board members voted unanimously to censure Gordon.[2]
Recall supporter arguments
Rumblings of a recall effort against Carol Gordon emerged after a contentious board meeting on June 25, 2014. Gordon, a former teacher in the district, faced increasing scrutiny of her behavior as a volunteer with the district's Reading Buddy program. The program requires volunteers to be supervised by school staff while working with students. Gordon began to request private reading sessions with students in February 2014, according to Michelson Elementary School principal Brett Loring. She was also overheard making unusual statements about reading material to students during her Reading Buddy classes.[1]
On April 30, 2014, Loring asked Gordon to stay away from Michelson Elementary except during board meetings. After Loring's request, Gordon made three visits to the school including two visits when Loring was not present. Loring contacted the local police during Gordon's third visit and filed a restraining order against the board member effective on June 24, 2014. She refused to resign during the June 25, 2014, meeting after facing criticism from local parents and school staff members. Fellow board members also pursued a censure against Gordon and the California Attorney General was investigating her possible removal from office.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters submitted a Notice of Intention to Gordon following her refusal to resign from the board at a June 2014 meeting. This notice included a 200-word summary of why local voters seek a recall election. The petition language was reviewed and approved by county officials, and recall organizers were given until November 12, 2014, to gather signatures from district residents. As of September 19, 2014, supporters reported having approximately 1,100 of the required 1,600 to recall Gordon.[3] It has been estimated that a special recall election would cost the district $12,000.[1][4]
Ultimately, no signatures were submitted by the deadline.[5]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Carol + Gordon + Vallecito + Union + School + District + recall"
See also
External links
- Vallecito Union School District
- Board of Trustee's meeting minutes from September 17, 2014, including formal censure of Gordon
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Calaveras Enterprise, "VUSD, voters want board member gone," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Calaveras Enterprise, "Vallecito school board seeks to censure trustee," September 19, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Procedure for Recalling State and Local Officials," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpetition - ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Julie Pratt, Elections Supervisor for County of Calaveras," November 19, 2014
