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Gini Pupo-Walker recall, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee (2020)
| Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Tennessee Tennessee recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Gini Pupo-Walker from her position as the District 8 representative on the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education in Tennessee did not go to a vote in 2020.[1]
The effort started after the district released a plan to keep all students in virtual learning until at least October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Recall supporters said they were seeking to recall Pupo-Walker due to her support of continuing standardized testing this year and “dereliction of duty.”[3] Pupo-Walker said she was trying to keep up with questions from parents and community members and said she had no regrets.[2]
Pupo-Walker was elected to a four-year term on the nine-member board in 2018. She defeated one other candidate with 62.6% of the vote on August 2, 2018.[4]
Recall supporters
Recall supporters said they were seeking to recall Pupo-Walker due to her support of continuing standardized testing this year and “dereliction of duty.” They also said they had been unable to contact her.[3]
In their notice of intent to recall, supporters said, “We believe this collapse of education delivery is the direct result of a nine-ember school board — including Ms. Pupo-Walker — that has failed to govern at a time when school board leadership is more important than ever.”[3][5]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Pupo-Walker said she felt dejected and defeated, but she said she had no regrets. She said that the decision to keep students in virtual learning until at least October was made by the school district's administration.[2] She said that while she supported that decision, the school board never voted on it. "We didn't vote on these plans, there has never been a vote. We were presented with the plan after a lot of feedback and give and take," Pupo-Walker said. "It's a proposal from Dr. Battle to address an issue ...Certainly I have supported her and the district every step of the way. I've certainly never felt like we are going down the wrong path or think this is misguided."[3]
Pupo-Walker said she tried to keep up with questions from parents and community members. "I think we’ve tried to be transparent. I think we’ve tried to get feedback. We’ve conducted surveys and we’re conducting another one...I’ll continue to talk to people and try to listen and to do the best I can.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Tennessee
The notice of intent to recall was filed with the Nashville Metro Clerk on September 4, 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect approximately 7,500 signatures from registered voters in the district. The number of signatures needed was equal to 15% of registered voters in the district.[2]
About the district
The Metropolitan Nashville Public school district is located in Davidson County in central Tennessee. The county seat is Nashville. Davidson County was home to an estimated 694,144 residents in 2019, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6]
Demographics
Davidson County outperformed Tennessee as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2014 to 2018. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.3% of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31.5% of state residents. The median household income in Davidson County was $56,507, and it was $60,293 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the county was 15.4%, and it was 10.5% statewide.[6]
| Racial Demographics, 2019[6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Davidson County (%) | Tennessee (%) |
| White | 65.5 | 76.3 |
| Black or African American | 27.4 | 13.4 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Asian | 4.0 | 5.9 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 10.4 | 18.5 |
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.
2020 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.
The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, elections (2020)
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools elections (2018)
- Recall campaigns in Tennessee
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Elizabeth Waites, Nashville Metropolitan Clerk," December 17, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Tennessee Lookout, "Recall effort launched against school board member Pupo-Walker," September 4, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Tennessean, "Metro Schools have 'failed' Nashville's kids in face of COVID-19 crisis: MNPS board member," September 14, 2020
- ↑ Nashville Post, "Winners from school board races," August 3, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Davidson County, Tennessee; United States," accessed September 21, 2020
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