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Georgia Acosta recall, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, California (2021)
| Pajaro Valley Unified School District recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Georgia Acosta from her position as the Trustee Area II representative on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board of trustees in California did not go to a vote in 2021. Recall supporters did not submit petitions by the deadline.[1]
The recall effort began in May 2021.[2] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 2,148 signatures from registered voters in Trustee Area II by September 27, 2021.[3]
The recall effort began after the board voted to fire Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez in January 2021. In response to public outcry against the decision, the board voted to re-instate Rodriguez five days later. Acosta served as board president at the time of the votes.[2]
Acosta was first elected to the seven-member board in 2016.[4][5]
Recall supporters
Recall Campaign Manager Carol Turley said the termination and reinstatement of the superintendent was not the only reason for the recall effort against Acosta. Turley said Acosta had also shown a lack of commitment to her constituents, disclosed confidential board documents to members of the public, and missed 26 board meetings.[2]
“Governing board member for Area II Georgia Acosta failed to fulfill the duties and responsibilities entrusted to her as a governing board member,” Turley said in a board meeting on May 12, 2021. “Trustee Acosta has created mistrust and a lack of confidence with constituents following the sudden termination of the district superintendent.”[2]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Acosta revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer. "While battling this dreaded disease these past few years, my commitment to you has never wavered," Acosta said.[6]
Acosta called the recall effort a misleading witch hunt. She said she always tried "to benefit the students, families, employees and taxpayers" of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters filed a notice of intent to recall Acosta in May 2021. The Santa Cruz County Elections Department approved the petition for circulation on June 29, 2021. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect signatures from 25% of registered voters in the district's Trustee Area II in 90 days. A total of 2,148 signatures were needed, and the filing deadline was September 27, 2021.[2][3]
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
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- School board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District
- Santa Cruz County Elections Department
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber," September 28, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Notice of recall submitted to PVUSD trustee," May 12, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber," July 19, 2021
- ↑ Santa Cruz County Elections Department, "Pajaro Valley Unified School District - (7) Members," accessed June 3, 2021
- ↑ Pajaro Valley Unified School District, "Board of Trustees Homepage," accessed June 3, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Patch Watsonville, CA, "Watsonville Schools Trustee Responds To Recall Effort: SEE," June 7, 2021
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