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Las Cruces Public Schools recall, New Mexico (2019-2021)
| Las Cruces Public Schools recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Terrie Dallman Maria Flores |
| Recall status |
2 Did not go to a vote |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in New Mexico New Mexico recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the five members of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education in New Mexico did not go to a vote. The process began in April 2019 and was put on hold indefinitely after it was appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court. The court did not rule on it before the board members' regular terms were up for regular election on November 2, 2021.
Recall supporters named District 1 member Ray Jaramillo, District 2 member Terrie Dallman, and District 3 member Maria Flores in the recall petitions, but they said the entire school board violated New Mexico open meetings and public records laws and school district policies. All three board members denied that they had violated any laws or policies. Recall petitions were filed on May 8, 2019, and were approved by a district court judge to begin circulating petitions on June 11, 2019. The three board members appealed the judge's decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court.[1][2][3][4]
The effort against Dallman ended in June 2021 with her resignation.[5] Flores did not run for re-election in the general election on November 2, 2021, while Jaramillo was re-elected to a new term in that election.[6][7]
Dallman, Flores, and Jaramillo won four-year terms on the board on February 7, 2017. Dallman and Jaramillo were newcomers on the board at the time, while Flores was first elected to the board in 2009.[1][2][8]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by a group called Enough, which included former district educators and administrators. Recall supporters said the entire school board violated New Mexico open meetings and public records laws and school district policies when they unanimously approved Superintendent Greg Ewing's recommendation to demolish Columbia Elementary School in order for a new school to be built in its place. They said the board members' decision was "based on information that was considered outside public forums," according to the Las Cruces Sun News.[1][9]
Recall supporters also said the board failed to supervise Ewing. Recall supporters criticized Ewing for increasing administrative salaries even though budget cuts were needed and the district was in a hiring freeze.[1] Las Cruces attorney CaraLyn Banks said that public records requests showed that Ewing had added 14 central office administrators since he joined the district in December 2016. "The extra cost that was spent on administrators could have hired 30 more teachers," Banks said during the public comment portion of a board meeting on April 16, 2019.[9]
Recall supporters also said Ewing hired administrators without proper qualifications and put employees on leave until their contract expired in order to "make budgetary space for the hiring of more administrators," according to the recall petition.[1]
Recall opponents
Dallman denied the complaints listed in the recall petitions. "I take this elected position very seriously and it is a great honor and privilege to serve my community in this capacity. I feel the will of our community voters is being dismissed by moving forward with this petition," Dallman said.[1]
In reaction to the recall effort, Flores said, "The complaints are inaccurate and don't warrant a recall effort."[1] After the complaints against the board were shared at the April 16 board meeting, Flores said, "I remain a champion of transparency and accountability. I have never had more confidence in our administration as I do right now, and I don't worry about the superintendent making funny deals that somehow don't work out in the favor of the district."[9]
Jaramillo said he trusted the recall process. "They think we did something wrong, and I feel strongly that I have worked in the best interest of the LCPS students," Jaramillo said. "I guess it will be up to a judge and maybe the voters to make that decision."[1]
On June 12, 2019, the National Education Association-Las Cruces Board of Directors voted unanimously to oppose the recall effort.[10]
In February 2018, the board voted to extend Ewing's contract as superintendent through June 30, 2021.[9] Las Cruces Superintendent Greg Ewing submitted his resignation to the board on August 13, 2019, effective September 9, 2019. The board voted unanimously to accept it and also placed Ewing on administrative leave with pay until his last day.[11]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in New Mexico
Recall petitions were filed on May 8, 2019, and had to be approved in a court hearing before they could be circulated. The court hearing began on May 22, 2019, and continued on May 23, 2019. New Mexico law allows school board members to be recalled for misfeasance, malfeasance, or violating the oath of office.[1][12] The district court judge ruled in favor of the recall on June 11, 2019. The board members responded by appealing to the New Mexico Supreme Court. Recall supporters could not circulate petitions until the appeal was resolved.[4]
Recall supporters also appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court. "Since the group could not proceed with the recall, it made sense to get clarification from the Supreme Court regarding how the new definitions apply in assessing the other charges made by the group that Judge Martin did not consider," CaraLyn Banks, legal counsel for the group Enough, said in a statement to the Las Cruces Sun News. New Mexico's Recall Act was revised in 2019.[4] The court did not rule on the petitions before the regular school board election scheduled for November 2, 2021.[6]
If the recall effort had been allowed to proceed, recall supporters would have had to collect signatures from one-third of the number of registered voters who voted in the last school board election for the District 1, 2, and 3 seats in 90 days to get the recall on the ballot. Approximately 83 signatures would have been needed for the petition against Jaramillo, 252 would have been needed for the petition against Dallman, and 424 would have been needed for the petition against Flores, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.[1]
If enough signatures had been verified, a recall election would have been held within 120 days of the verification. On the recall ballot, voters would have been asked if the board members should be removed from office. If a majority of voters voted yes, the three members would have been removed, and the New Mexico Public Education Department would have appointed three new members to serve on the board until the next school board election.[1]
About the district
The Las Cruces school district is located in Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico. The county seat is Las Cruces. Doña Ana County was home to an estimated 217,522 residents in 2018, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13]
Demographics
Doña Ana County outperformed New Mexico as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2013 and 2017. The United States Census Bureau found that 27.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.9 percent of state residents. The median household income for Doña Ana County was $39,114, compared to $46,718 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 26.3 percent, while it was 19.7 percent statewide.[13]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Doña Ana County (%) | New Mexico (%) | |
| White | 91.9 | 82.0 | |
| Black or African American | 2.4 | 2.6 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.4 | 10.9 | |
| Asian | 1.3 | 1.8 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| Two or more races | 1.9 | 2.6 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 68.6 | 49.1 | |
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.
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.
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.
2019 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 20 school board recall efforts against 47 board members in 2019. Three recall elections were held in 2019. The school board recall success rate was 6.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2019 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Las Cruces Public Schools, New Mexico
- Las Cruces Public Schools elections (2017)
- Las Cruces Public Schools elections (2015)
- Recall campaigns in New Mexico
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2019
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Las Cruces Sun News, "Petition to recall Las Cruces school board members headed to court," May 16, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Las Cruces Public Schools, "Board of Education," accessed May 17, 2019
- ↑ KRWG Public Media, "Las Cruces School Board Members Appeal Recall Election Decision To NM Supreme Court," June 12, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Las Cruces Sun News, "Here's why both sides in Las Cruces school board recall are appealing to Supreme Court," June 22, 2019
- ↑ Las Cruces Sun News, "Las Cruces school board outlines candidate criteria, OKs investigation following Dallman resignation," June 8, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Las Cruces Sun News, "Meet the District 1 Las Cruces school board candidates: Ray Jaramillo and Abelardo Balcazar," October 3, 2021
- ↑ Las Cruces Sun News, "Ray Jaramillo reelected to the Las Cruces Public Schools District 1 position," November 3, 2021
- ↑ Las Cruces Sun News, "Meet the District 1 Las Cruces school board candidates: Ray Jaramillo and Abelardo Balcazar," October 3, 2021
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Las Cruces Sun News, "Community group plans recall of Las Cruces school board members," April 17, 2019
- ↑ KRWG Public Media NPR, "NEA-LC Board of Directors unanimously support the Las Cruces Public Schools School Board," June 19, 2019
- ↑ ABC 7 KVIA, "Las Cruces schools superintendent resigns effective Sept. 9, placed on leave until then," August 13, 2019
- ↑ Las Cruces Sun News, "Hearing on Las Cruces school board recall effort begins in district court," May 22, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States Census Bureau, "Doña Ana County, New Mexico," accessed June 27, 2019
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