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Kari MacRae recall, Bourne Public Schools, Massachusetts (2022)
| Bourne Public Schools recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Kari MacRae from her position on the Bourne Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts did not go to a vote in 2022. The Bourne town counsel ruled on February 14, 2022, that the initial recall paperwork did not meet the town's charter provisions. Because of this, the town clerk did not issue recall petitions.[1]
MacRae was elected to a three-year term on the seven-member board in May 2021.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Former school committee members Chris Hyldburg and Anne Marie Siroonian started the recall effort. Recall supporters said comments MacRae made on social media during her candidacy to the board were at issue. In those comments, MacRae said she was running for a seat on the board “to ensure that students, at least in our town, are not being taught critical race theory” and to ensure that students are "not being taught that the country was built on racism; so they’re not being taught that they can choose whether or not they want to be a girl or a boy.” Recall supporters said her comments violated the district’s non-discrimination policy.[1]
Recall opponents
MacRae called the rejection of the recall affidavit reassuring. "I invite any and all residents of Bourne, who have concerns about me being on the school committee, to reach out to me and register those concerns. But nobody from the public is showing up at our meetings to talk about any concerns about me,” MacRae said.[1]
MacRae also said that a recall election could cost up to $11,000. “So you have people willing for the town to spend $11,000 and above to recall Kari MacRae versus the reality that nobody shows up at our meetings to express concerns about me,” MacRae said.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
The recall affidavit to start the recall process was rejected because an oath or affirmation was not included at the bottom of four pages of signatures. To get the recall on the ballot, the affidavit had to include 250 initial signatures. If that had been approved, the recall petition would have required 1,487 signatures.[1]
2022 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.
The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Bourne Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Recall campaigns in Massachusetts
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
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