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Jody London recall, Oakland Unified School District, California (2020)
| Oakland Unified School District recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall acting president and District 1 representative Jody London from the Oakland Unified School District school board did not go to a vote in 2020. During a school board meeting on December 10, 2019, London was served with a notice of intent to recall her from her position.[1] Those calling for her removal had to collect 9,236 signatures in order to get the recall election on the ballot. They did not submit signatures in time to hold an election six months before her term was due to end.[2][3][4]
The board voted in September 2019 to close Kaiser Elementary School and merge it at the end of the 2019-2020 school year with the Sankofa Elementary School. Kaiser Elementary School was in London's District 1. The school closure and proposed merger sparked protestors to initiate the recall campaign against London, who announced in 2018 that she did not plan to seek re-election in 2020.[5]
London argued that the student body of Kaiser Elementary was diverse and comprised of students from all parts of Oakland. She also argued the district could increase the quality of its schools by focusing resources on fewer facilities. London also said she did not believe enough signatures would be gathered to mount the recall.[5]
Protestors argued that school closures hurt students and demanded the halt of school closures until the summer of 2022 when voters would have the opportunity to vote on statewide ballot measures that could increase education funding.[5]
Recall supporters
The group "Oakland is not for sale" spearheaded the recall petition against London. The organization's website cited the following demands related to its recall efforts.[6]
| “ | 1. STOP SCHOOL CLOSURES
Scrap the Blueprint for “Quality Schools” and declare a moratorium on school closures and consolidations until the summer of 2022, giving time for us to assess the impact of the Schools and Communities First Act, if it passes in November of 2020 2. END THE SCHOOLS TO PRISON PIPELINE 3. STOP THE CHARTER SCHOOL TAKEOVER 4. LET THE PEOPLE SEE THE MONEY |
” |
| —Oakland Not For Sale[6] | ||
Recall opponents
London responded to the recall election with the following statement:[8]
| “ | During this time, I have made hard decisions to preserve the financial viability of the school district in a state that funds public schools below the national average per pupil, and at a time when expenses are rising. The costs of a recall election must be borne by OUSD; a recall election is unnecessary given this seat is up for re-election in 2020.[7] | ” |
District superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell proposed the closure of Kaiser Elementary, the consolidation of two East Oakland middle schools, the expansion of a K-8 dual immersion school, and the investment in a redesign of Fruitvale Elementary School in East Oakland.[9] According to EdSource, Johnson-Trammell called on the school board to be courageous and approve the plan, which was expected to save the school district an estimated $2 million over five years.[9] Supporters of the district's plans and opponents of the recall argued that operating fewer schools would allow the district to improve the schools that remained open, benefitting the students and the community.[9]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters had to gather 50 signatures on a Notice of Intent to recall London. They were able to collect these signatures and served the notice to London during a school board meeting on December 10, 2019.[1] In order to get the recall on the ballot, petitions containing 9,236 signatures had to be submitted in time to call a recall election by July 2020. A recall election could not be called within six months of an official leaving office.[3]
About the district
The Oakland Unified School District is located in Alameda County in central California. The county seat is Oakland.[10] Alameda County was home to 1,638,215 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[11]
Demographics
Alameda County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 42.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. The median household income for Alameda County was $73,775, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 12.5 percent, compared to 16.4 percent statewide.[11]
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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
- Oakland Unified School District, California
- Oakland Unified School District elections (2018)
- Oakland Unified School District elections (2016)
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2019
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KPIX 5, "Parent Serves Oakland School Board President Recall Notice At Meeting," December 10, 2019
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Phone communication with Alameda County Elections Office on December 17, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 East Bay Express, "Anger at OUSD ," February 5, 2020
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "California: Acting Oakland School Board President facing petitions," November 22, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 EdSource, "Protesters collecting signatures to oust Oakland board member who backed school closing," November 22, 2019
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oakland Not For Sale, "Demands," accessed December 11, 2019
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ East Bay Times, "Parents, teachers sue Oakland school district over violent board meeting," January 30, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 EdSource, "Oakland superintendent: closing campuses will lead to improved schools, August 30, 2019
- ↑ Alameda County, "About Us," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 United States Census Bureau, "Alameda County, California," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statewide elections," accessed June 30, 2014
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