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Central Unified School District recall, California (2018)
| Central Unified School District Board of Trustees recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Richard Solis |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
Two efforts to recall a total of three board members from their positions on the Central Unified School District board of trustees in California did not go to a vote in 2018. The effort to recall Phillip Cervantes and Richard Solis started in February 2018, but it was later terminated. Supporters of that recall effort did not agree with the board's decision to terminate Superintendent Mark Sutton's contract.[1][2][3][4] Sutton's contract was due to expire in June 2018, but the board voted 4-3 to terminate his contract effective immediately on February 27, 2018. Solis voted in favor of terminating Sutton's contract, while Cervantes voted against it.[5][6]
The effort to recall Terry Cox began in April 2018. Cox was one of the three board members who voted against terminating Sutton's contract.[7] That effort did not go to a vote as paperwork that was required to move the recall forward was not submitted to the county by the deadline.[8]
Cervantes and Solis were elected to four-year terms on the seven-member board to represent Trustee Areas 3 and 5, respectively, on November 8, 2016. Cervantes defeated his opponent with 50.6 percent of the vote, and Solis won with 41 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Cox was first elected to the board in 2000. She was re-elected to the Trustee Area 6 seat in 2016, defeating challenger Richard Martinez Jr. with 52.8 percent of the vote. Martinez started the recall effort against her.[7][9][10]
Recall supporters
Cervantes and Solis effort
The recall effort against Cervantes and Solis was started by the Central Community United PAC. The group demanded that the board reinstate Sutton to his position as superintendent. “We feel the board, which is an elected seat where transparency is supposed to happen, has a hidden agenda which was made evident when they failed to listen to those who elected them,” Aaren Rodrigues, treasurer of Central Community United PAC, said.[2]
When she served Cervantes and Solis their first notices of intent to recall on February 13, 2018, recall supporter Raquel Camacho said, “Mr. Solis and Mr. Cervantes, as Central Unified Trustees, have failed to maintain a positive and stable work environment for the superintendent. Additionally, Mr. Solis and Mr. Cervantes, as board members, have failed to act in the best interest of the district." At that time, Camacho said that recall supporters believed that the two members were against extending Sutton's contract.[3] Cervantes voted against terminating Sutton's contract later that month.[5]
Cox effort
The effort to recall Cox was started by Richard Martinez Jr. He filed to run against Cox in 2016 and was defeated when she took 52.8 percent of the vote.[7][9]
The intent to recall Cox said she was involved with the recall effort against Cervantes and Solis and that she had failed the students and community. The intent also said that 65 percent of third-grade students read at grade level, which was below the 100 percent goal the board set out in 2002. It also said the board wasted funds on tablets that did not work and did not hire sufficient counselors or instructional aides despite a budget surplus.[11]
Recall opponents
Cervantes and Solis effort
In response to the recall effort, Cervantes said:
| “ | I am committed to honoring our employees’ right to privacy and preserving the integrity of the District’s policies mandating the confidentiality. By the same token, I recognize how important transparency is for the community. While I share the desire for open and rank communications, I have to balance the need for transparency, with my obligation to honor Mr. Sutton’s privacy.[12] | ” |
| —Phillip Cervantes (2018)[2] | ||
A letter attributed to Solis asked citizens of the district to not sign the petition, saying a recall election could cost the district $60,000 to $70,000. The letter also said, "While I share the desire for open and frank communication, I have to balance the need for transparency, with my obligation to honor the privacy rights of all District employees."[2]
Cox effort
Cox said she was surprised at the news of the recall effort against her. She said she did not believe the recall had followed election law as she had not received a notice of intent to recall. Cox also said, “It’s retaliation for the fact the community is trying to right the Mark Sutton decision. They are trying to take away one more vote for Sutton.”[7][11]
Cox said she did not agree with the claims in the notice of intent to recall her. “Their statements are inaccurate,” Cox said. “They are slanted without all the information pertinent to that discussion.”[11]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters served Cervantes and Solis with notices of intent to recall at a school board meeting on February 13, 2018.[3] The Fresno County Elections Office rejected the recall petition on technical grounds.[4] Recall supporters filed new petitions in March 2018.[2] That effort was later aborted.[1]
The recall effort against Cox began in April 2018, but it did not go to a vote. The effort ended when recall supporters did not submit paperwork by a deadline.[8]
About the district
The Central Unified School District is located in Fresno County in central California. The county seat is Fresno. Fresno County was home to 979,915 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13] The district served 15,584 students in the 2014-2015 school year.[14]
Demographics
Fresno County underperformed compared to California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2012 to 2016. The United States Census Bureau found that 19.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 32 percent of state residents. The median household income for Fresno County was $45,963, compared to $63,783 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 25.5 percent, while it was 14.3 percent statewide.[13]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Fresno County (%) | California (%) | |
| White | 77.1 | 72.7 | |
| Black or African American | 5.8 | 6.5 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 3.0 | 1.7 | |
| Asian | 10.8 | 14.8 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.3 | 0.5 | |
| Two or more races | 3.1 | 3.8 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 52.8 | 38.9 | |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
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
- Central Unified School District, California
- Central Unified School District elections (2018)
- Central Unified School District elections (2016)
- Central Unified School District elections (2014)
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2018
- School board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Central Unified School District
- Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GV Wire, "Did Voters Oust Central Unified Trustees Over Sutton Firing?" November 8, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 GV Wire, "Secret Meetings Led to Sutton Firing? ‘Never Happened,’ Says Board Leader." March 29, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 GV Wire, "Two Central Unified Trustees Served Recall Notices," February 20, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 GV Wire, "Janz Wins State Dems Endorsement in Nunes Battle," February 26, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Fresno Bee, "Central Unified’s superintendent terminated without cause," February 27, 2018
- ↑ Central Unified School District, "Regular Meeting Of The Board Of Trustees Central USD February 27, 2018 6:00pm," accessed April 17, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Fresco Bee, "Central Unified ousted its superintendent. Parents want to know if it was discrimination," April 16, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 GV Wire, "Central Unified Secrets Revealed In Superintendent Firing," May 4, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fresno County, "Fresno County Unofficial Final Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Central Unified School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed February 22, 2018
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 GV Wire, "Central Unified Recall Battle Grows. Terry Cox Is New Target." April 16, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Fresno County, California; California," accessed February 22, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
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