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Crandon School District recall, Wisconsin (2018)
| Crandon School District Board recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| October 9, 2018 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
A recall election seeking to remove Laura Bauknecht from her position on the five-member Crandon School District school board in Wisconsin was approved by voters on October 9, 2018. Michelle Gobert was elected to replace her.[1][2][3]
Earlier in the year, an effort to recall Nadine Westimayer from her position on the board resulted in her resignation.[4] A recall election was held on August 14, 2018, to elect her replacement. John Doane won the seat.[5][6]
Westimayer and Bauknecht were targeted for recall by the group Citizens United for Education. The group listed a projected deficit for the district, the district's administrator-to-student ratio, and low student and staff morale as reasons for the recall effort.[7]
Recall vote
Laura Bauknecht
| Laura Bauknecht Recall Election, Crandon School District, 2018 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Michelle Gobert |
47.2% | 278 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bryan M. Schallock | 25% | 147 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jamie L. Thomaschefsky | 17.1% | 101 | |
| Nonpartisan | Laura S. Bauknecht Incumbent | 10.4% | 61 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 589 | |||
| Source: Forest County Elections, "School Board Election Results 08-14-18," accessed August 21, 2018 | ||||
Nadine Westimayer
Though Westimayer resigned from her position, a recall election was still held to elect her successor. The results of that election can be found below.
| Crandon School District Recall Election, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | John Doane |
98.1% | 1,461 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1.9% | 28 | |
| Total Votes | 1,489 | |||
| Source: Forest County Elections, "School Board Election Results 08-14-18," accessed August 21, 2018 | ||||
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by Citizens United for Education, a group created by Tim Reeder in March 2018. Reeder published the following letter to the editor in the Pioneer Express on July 23, 2018.
| “ | Citizens United for Education is an open group to all citizens and taxpayers interested in educating themselves on how responsibly our school is using our tax dollars in running the school, the children's education, safety, staff and student moral. These meetings generally take place once a week in the basement of the Crandon Public Library. We encourage any and all Crandon School District citizens and taxpayers to participate in and attend school board meetings, school board workshop meetings and Citizens United for Education meetings.
Your school board is a policy making entity for the school district. The board is an administrative agency that must provide oversight for the operation of the local school system and is ultimately accountable for the system's operation and the board is a democratically elected body that provides school system leadership and represents the interests of the community on public education issues. Boards may also be authorized by the state legislature to levy taxes without going to referendum. ITEMS THAY MAY BE OF CONCERN TO YOU:
While this list is not exhaustive, it is extensive. The public needs to be aware of the current trend the board has taken and needs to take a good hard look at where this money is being spent. Since its inception, Citizens United for Education has been proactive in gathering information with regard to how the District is spending our money. This is why several recall petitions have and are being circulated in an effort to remove tenured board members and move to a more fiscally responsible and commonsense approach to not only the spending, but also to the betterment of our children’s education and safety. Again, Citizens United for Education encourages everyone to attend these meetings and provide your input. We also encourage all to get out and vote in the upcoming recall election.[8] |
” |
| —Tim Reeder (2018)[7] | ||
Recall opponents
Ballotpedia did not identify any public comments from recall opponents as of October 9, 2018.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
Members of Citizens United for Education presented Westimayer with recall paperwork on April 9, 2018.[9] Westimayer resigned on July 9, 2018.[4] A recall election was held on August 14, 2018, to elect her replacement.[5]
An effort to recall board member Laura Bauknecht submitted signatures to the school district on July 30, 2018. A total of 563 signatures had to be verified for the recall election to be held.[10] The signatures were certified as sufficient on August 30, 2018. The recall election was scheduled for October 9, 2018. The deadline to file to run in the election was September 11, 2018.[1]
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
- Crandon School District, Wisconsin
- Recall campaigns in Wisconsin
- Political recall efforts, 2018
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Crandon School District, "NOTICE OF SCHOOL BOARD RECALL ELECTION," accessed September 12, 2018
- ↑ Crandon School District, "School board," accessed April 17, 2018
- ↑ Forest County Elections, "Crandon School District Recall Election 10/09/2018," accessed October 9, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crandon School District, "Regular Meeting Minutes July 9, 2018," accessed August 21, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Forest County Elections, "School Board Election Results 08-14-18," accessed August 21, 2018
- ↑ Forest County Elections, "Official Recall Ballot August 14, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pioneer Express, "Open Letter to the School District of Crandon, citizens and taxpayers," July 23, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Forest Republican, "Divide deepens between Crandon school board and Citizens United," April 11, 2018
- ↑ Pioneer Express, "Citizens United For Education continue recall of school board," August 6, 2018
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