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Dave Nickels and Meredith Sauer recall, Manitowoc School District, Wisconsin (2021)
| Manitowoc School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Meredith Sauer |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall two of the seven members of the Manitowoc School District Board of Education in Wisconsin did not go to a vote in 2021. Recall supporters did not submit petition signatures by the deadline on December 2, 2021.[1]
The recall effort began in October 2021. Dave Nickels and Meredith Sauer were named in the recall petitions. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect more than 4,000 signatures.[2][3]
Recall supporters said they were disappointed with how the school board handled protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sauer said that her priorities for the past two years had been to ensure students could learn at high levels and achieve their educational goals.[2]
Nickels was first elected to the board in April 2016, and Sauer was first elected in April 2019. Their terms were both due to expire in April 2022.[3]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by the group Recall MPSD, which included about 40 families. “We are a grassroots team of parents who have come together to say enough is enough,” Jeanette Deschene, a member of the group, said. “My specific role is no different than anyone else within our group; a parent who has watched my children struggle to succeed over the past two years and wants to see change.”[2]
“As the board president, Dave Nickels has shown weakness in leadership at a time where it was needed most,” Deschene said. “This has caused division between students, families and staff. Meredith Sauer has followed her own personal agenda and has refused to recognize that there are parents concerned about the educational decline in our district.”[2]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Sauer said that her priorities for the past two years had been to ensure students could learn at high levels and achieve their educational goals. “Honestly, I find this both humorous and infuriating,” Sauer said. “Disagreeing with my positions does not mean I am pushing an agenda.”[2]
“Some people may not agree with every idea or vote I made while I have been on the board, but that is why I am glad that the board works together, not as independent individuals,” Sauer said. “As a group, we discuss and make decisions. No individual member of the board has the ability to make decisions for the board.”[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
Recall supporters filed initial recall paperwork with the Manitowoc City Clerk's Office on October 4, 2021. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect more than 4,000 signatures by December 2, 2021.[1][2]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
2021 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.
The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Manitowoc School District, Wisconsin
- Recall campaigns in Wisconsin
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Manitowoc Public School District
- Manitowoc City Clerk
- Recall MPSD website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Facebook, "Meredith Sauer for MPSD School Board post on December 2, 2021," accessed December 6, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Herald Times Reporter, "Manitowoc school board recall effort takes aim at Dave Nickels, Meredith Sauer for COVID-19 response, 'educational decline,'" October 11, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Manitowoc Public School District, "Board of Education," accessed October 14, 2021
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