Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown recall, West Bonner County School District, Idaho (2023)
| West Bonner County School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Susan Brown |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| August 29, 2023 |
| Signature requirement |
180 signatures against Brown |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
Recall elections against Zone 4 representative Keith Rutledge and Zone 2 representative Susan Brown, members of the West Bonner County School District school board in Idaho, were held on August 29, 2023. A majority of voters cast ballots in favor of the recalls, removing the two officials from office.[1][2]
Rutledge served as the chairman of the five-member board, and Brown served as vice chairman.[3]
Recall vote
The recall elections were held on August 29, 2023, in the school district's Zones 2 and 4. In order for the recall elections to be approved, two things had to happen:[1]
- A majority of voters had to cast ballots in favor of the recall
- The number of yes votes had to reach at least 245 in the Rutledge recall and at least 177 in the Brown recall.
Susan Brown recall, 2023
Susan Brown lost the West Bonner County School District 83, Zone 2 recall election on August 29, 2023.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
66.0
|
624 | ||
No |
34.0
|
322 | |||
Total Votes |
946 | ||||
|
|
Keith Rutledge recall, 2023
Keith Rutledge lost the West Bonner County School District 83, Zone 4 recall election on August 29, 2023.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
62.7
|
762 | ||
No |
37.3
|
454 | |||
Total Votes |
1,216 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Recall petition against Rutledge
The recall petition against Rutledge stated:[4]
| “ |
To the Honorable (1) Michael Rosedale, County Clerk of the County of (2) Bonner: We, the undersigned citizens and registered electors of (3) West Bonner County School District #83 Zone 4 Respectfully demand that (4) Keith Rutledge, holding the Office of (5) Board Trustee of Zone 4, of the (6) West Bonner County School District #83 be recalled by the registered electors of the (7) West Bonner County School District #83 Zone 4 for the following reasons, to-wit: (8) Mr. Keith Rutledge took an Oath to, in good faith, strive to improve public schools, but he has failed to uphold the oath. For example, two months after voting to purchase a Language Arts Curriculum, he brought for a vote to rescind the purchase . The rescind vote cost the District money to send the order back. He doesn't recognize that a majority vote makes the decisions and the outcome needs to be supported by all members. He needs to be actively involved in policy changes as that is the Board's primary function and should be made after complete discussion at a publicly held board meeting. Trustee Rutledge needs to be open, fair, and honest. He has a hidden agenda and doesn't respect the rights of his constituents and the opinion and ideas of his fellow Board members. Trustee Rutledge has shown that he does not have the first and greatest concerns for the educational welfare of West Bonner County School District students attending public schools.[5] |
” |
Recall petition against Brown
The recall petition against Brown stated:[4]
| “ |
To the Honorable (1) Michael Rosedale, County Clerk of the County of (2)Bonner: We, the undersigned citizens and registered electors of (3) West Bonner County School District #83 Zone 2, Respectfully demand that (4) Susan Brown, holding the Office of (5) Board Trustee of Zone 2, of the (6) West Bonner County School District #83 be recalled by the registered electors of the (7) West Bonner County School District #83 Zone #2 for the following reasons, to-wit: (8) Mrs. Susan Brown took an Oath to, in good faith, strive to improve public schools, but she has failed to uphold the oath. For example, two months after voting to purchase a Language Arts Curriculum, she brought for a vote to rescind the purchase . The rescind vote cost the District money to send the order back. She doesn't recognize that a majority vote makes the decisions and the outcome needs to be supported by all members. She needs to be actively involved in policy changes as that is the Board's primary function and should be made after complete discussion at a publicly held board meeting, stop whispering to other board member during public meetings Trustee Brown needs to be open, fair, and honest, She has a hidden agenda and doesn't respect the rights of her constituents and the opinion and ideas of her fellow Board members. Trustee Brown has shown that she does not have the first and greatest concerns for the educational welfare of West Bonner County School District students attending public schools.[5] |
” |
Recall opponents
Response from Rutledge
In his official statement against the recall, Rutledge said:[6]
| “ |
Your vote today will determine the future of our district. Voting AGAINST my recall will keep a conservative majority on the school board that is working hard to improve the outcomes for our district's children. Voting for my recall will hand control of our district back over to the very same people that are responsible for 60% reading competency rates and call that "a success." The recall organizers want to keep you and the whole state from seeing the results of our forensic audit. They want to keep you and the whole country from seeing how a conservative led school district can improve poor educational outcomes and give our children a better chance at actual success. They want to continue with failed tax and spend policies. Your NO vote supports a forensic audit for financial accountability before another levy. Your NO vote keeps a Superintendent that demands better than 60% competency ratings for our students. Your NO vote rejects Critical Theory curriculums in our classrooms. Your NO vote will enable this board to keep building better outcomes for our district's children, their families, and all the residents who support it. Vote AGAINST if you want responsible administration for our district.[5] |
” |
Rutledge also said that the recall supporters “want to keep you and the whole country from seeing how a conservative-led school district can improve poor educational outcomes and give our children a better chance at actual success. They want to continue with failed tax-and-spend policies.”[7]
Response from Brown
In her official statement against the recall, Brown said:[6]
| “ |
Your vote today will determine the future of our district. Voting AGAINST my recall will keep a conservative majority on the school board that is working hard to improve the outcomes for our district's children. Voting for my recall will hand control of our district back over to the very same people that are responsible for 60% reading competency rates and call that "a success." The recall organizers want to keep you and the whole state from seeing the results of our forensic audit They want to keep you and the whole country from seeing how a conservative led school district can improve poor educational outcomes and give our children a better chance at actual success. They want to continue with failed tax and spend policies. Your NO vote supports a forensic audit for financial accountability before another levy. Your NO vote keeps a Superintendent that demands better than 60% competency ratings for our students. Your NO vote rejects Critical Theory curriculums in our classrooms. Your NO vote will enable this board to keep building better outcomes for our district's children, their families, and all the residents who support it. Vote AGAINST if you want responsible administration for our district.[5] |
” |
Brown also responded to the recall by saying, "Since being elected I have dedicated hundreds of hours to holding our district administration accountable to its residents and keeping woke liberal agendas out of our district."[8]
She also said:[8]
| “ | I led the investigation into the Wonders K-12 curriculum recommended by Susie Luckey which was riddled with (critical race theory) derived teaching methods and was 20% over budget. When we found out that the (social emotional learning) being pushed by the recall organizers was a backdoor through Idaho law to promote CRT and LGBTQ+/- agendas, I led the effort to send it right back to its publishers.[5] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho
To get the recalls on the ballot, recall supporters had to collect 243 signatures against Rutledge and 180 against Brown. The Bonner County Clerk verified 337 signatures against Rutledge and 243 signatures against Brown, allowing the recall elections to be scheduled.[4][7]
In order for the recall elections to be approved, two things had to happen:[1]
- A majority of voters had to cast ballots in favor of the recall
- The number of yes votes cast against each member had to be higher than the number of votes cast in favor of that member in the last election. At least 245 were needed against Rutledge for the recall to be successful, and at least 177 were needed against Brown.
Because the recalls were successful, the remaining members of the board will appoint replacements to fill the vacancies.[9]
2023 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 48 school board recall efforts against 97 board members in 2023. Sixteen of those board members faced recall elections. The recall elections were held on January 10, 2023, August 1, 2023, August 8, 2023, August 29, 2023, November 7, 2023, and December 12, 2023. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2023 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- West Bonner County School District, Idaho
- Recall campaigns in Idaho
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Idaho Ed News, "Embattled West Bonner school board leaders face recall next month," July 7, 2023
- ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "West Bonner school district recalls two board members," August 29, 2023
- ↑ West Bonner School District 83, "Our Trustees," accessed July 11, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Idaho Ed News, "After Durst controversy, West Bonner trustee recall efforts officially advance," June 30, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Idaho Ed News, "West Bonner recall organizers say trustees have a ‘hidden agenda,’" July 21, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Sandpoint Reader, "Following Durst contract approval in W. Bonner School District, trustees face recall," July 5, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Idaho Ed News, "West Bonner trustees say recall election is an ideological, partisan fight," July 11, 2023
- ↑ Bonner County Daily Bee, "Recall underway to oust West Bonner school trustees," June 29, 2023
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