Cynthia Kwiecinski recall, Easthampton Public Schools, Massachusetts (2023)
| Easthampton Public Schools recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Cynthia Kwiecinski from her position on the seven-member Easthampton Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts did not go to a vote in 2023. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot. They submitted approximately 1,060 signatures, which was short of the required 2,517 signatures.[1]
The recall effort started after the school board voted to rescind an offer to Dr. Vito Perrone to become the school's superintendent. The board initially voted 4-3 to offer Perrone the position on March 23, 2023. Kwiecinski, who served as chairperson, was one of the three members to vote no. During contract negotiations later that month, the board voted in closed session on March 30, 2023, to rescind the offer. Perrone said that he was told the school committee was offended by his use of the word ladies to address an email. He said he was told the address was a microaggression.[2][3][4][5]
In April 2023, the school committee voted 2-5 against reopening negotiations with Perrone.[6] Another candidate was offered the position, but that candidate withdrew herself from consideration. In May 2023, the school committee voted to pause the superintendent search and begin steps to fill the position with an interim.[7]
Kwiecinski was up for re-election to a two-year term along with five other members of the school committee on November 7, 2023.[7] In the last school committee election in 2021, all six members up for election ran unopposed.[8]
Recall supporters
Supporters of the recall said the school committee was not being open about what led to the rescission of Perrone's offer.[6] “It started with the fact that Dr. Perrone’s offer was rescinded for what seemed like a rather absurd reason,” Cathy Wauczinski, one of the organizers of the recall effort, said. “The response from the School Committee, particularly the chair, was not sufficient to address the concerns of the people. Additionally, she was non-responsive to many people that reached out to her.”[8]
Recall opponents
School committee members said they were limited in what they could say about rescinding the offer to Perrone due to confidentiality rules for contract negotiations in closed sessions.[6]
School committee member Marin Goldstein, who voted in favor of offering Perrone the position, said Perrone had made some unprofessional comments during contract negotiations. “There has been a number of moments where this candidate, I would’ve expected, put forward his best foot, and instead, put forward, on numerous occasions in numerous ways, a very unprofessional way of engaging this body — ultimately, his boss,” Goldstein said. “That was an unfortunate situation.”[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
The Easthampton City Charter allows for the recall of elected officials. To start the process against Kwiecinski, recall supporters had to collect 400 signatures on a recall affidavit. The signatures had to include at least 60 signatures from each of the city's precincts. The affidavit then had to be filed with the Easthampton Registrar of Voters.[9] Supporters filed that affidavit on May 15, 2023.[8] The city clerk verified the signatures on the affidavit on May 18, 2023, and issued the official recall petitions. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters had to collect 2,517 signatures by June 8, 2023.[10] The number of signatures was equal to 20% of voters in the most recent city election.[9]
Supporters filed the petition signatures with the Easthampton City Clerk on June 8, 2023.[11] The city clerk had 10 days to verify the signatures.[12] However, because recall supporters did not submit enough signatures, the formal verification process was never started.[1]
2023 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 48 school board recall efforts against 97 board members in 2023. Sixteen of those board members faced recall elections. The recall elections were held on January 10, 2023, August 1, 2023, August 8, 2023, August 29, 2023, November 7, 2023, and December 12, 2023. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2023 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Easthampton Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Recall campaigns in Massachusetts
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
- Nicole LaChapelle recall, Easthampton, Massachusetts (2023)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daily Hampshire Gazette, "Effort to recall Easthampton School Committee chair falls short of required signatures," June 13, 2023
- ↑ MassLive, "Easthampton rescinds job offer for superintendent over term ‘ladies,’ candidate says," April 2, 2023
- ↑ Easthampton Public Schools, "School Committee Meeting Minutes March 23, 2023," accessed May 16, 2023
- ↑ Daily Hampshire Gazette, "Second Easthampton School Committee member resigns over superintendent search," April 30, 2023
- ↑ Easthampton Public Schools, "School Committee," accessed May 16, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 MassLive, "Following ‘ladies’ debate, Easthampton residents seek recall of School Committee chair," April 12, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 MassLive, "Nov. election could shake up Easthampton school board after ‘ladies’ controversy," May 8, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 MassLive, "Recall of Easthampton schools chair advances after ‘ladies’ controversy," May 16, 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Easthampton City Charter, "SECTION 7-13. RECALL ELECTIONS," accessed May 16, 2023
- ↑ Daily Hampshire Gazette, "Recall of Easthampton School Committee chief begins," May 19, 2023
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Barbara LaBombard, Easthampton City Clerk," June 9, 2023
- ↑ The Reminder, "Effort to recall Easthampton School Committee Chair Kwiecinski underway," June 5, 2023
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