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Lois Havenor recall, Eleva-Strum School District, Wisconsin (2017)
| Eleva-Strum School District Board recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Lois Havenor from her position on the Eleva-Strum School District school board in Wisconsin resulted in her resignation from the board on September 28, 2017. Because recall supporters submitted enough signatures to get the recall on the ballot prior to Havenor's resignation, a recall election was held on November 21, 2017. Joshua Stendahl was elected to replace Havenor on the board.[1]
Recall supporters said Havenor abused her power as a board member, acted without the full board's consent, intimidated employees, and retaliated against a special education teacher who presented a letter of concern to the board. Havenor did not comment on the recall effort before she resigned.[2][3][4]
Havenor was one of seven members on the Eleva-Strum school board. She was elected by her fellow members to serve as board president in 2017. Her term on the board would have expired in April 2019, if she had not stepped down.[5][6][7][8]
Recall vote
The recall election was held on November 21, 2017. The winner served until April 2019.[5]
| Eleva-Strum School District, At-large Recall Election, 1-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Joshua Stendahl |
55.8% | 427 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristen Amundson Husby | 44.2% | 338 | |
| Total Votes | 765 | |||
| Source: WEAU 13 News, "UPDATE: Joshua Stendahl elected to Eleva-Strum School Board," November 21, 2017 and Facebook, "School District of Eleva-Strum post on November 22, 2017 | ||||
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by Lisa A. Starkey. The recall effort began after a special education teacher sent a letter to the board addressing concerns with her caseload. Recall supporters said that Havenor took the letter directly to the superintendent rather than discussing it with the entire board. The teacher was later dismissed. The recall petition said Havenor abused her power as a board member, acted without the full board's consent, and intimidated employees.[2][3]
Recall supporters also said that they believed Havenor had violated board rules when she acted without the rest of the board on certain issues. They also said there was a lack of communication and transparency between Havenor and other school stakeholders in the district.[3]
“We hope the board not only hears the comments that are made, but also listens to those concerns; so that our district can return to a state where it functions on moral character, honesty, integrity and the true definition of cardinal[sic] pride,” said district parent Alison Christ.[2]
Recall opponents
Havenor did not comment on the recall effort before she resigned on September 28, 2017.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
Recall supporters gave Havenor a notice of intent to recall at a school board meeting on September 13, 2017. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to collect 412 signatures. On September 15, 2017, a member of the school board announced that 528 signatures had been turned in.[2][3][9][10] The school district certified on October 12, 2017, that there were enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot. The recall election was held on November 21, 2017. If a primary election had been necessary, it would have been held on November 21, 2017, and a general recall election would have been held on December 19, 2017.[6][11]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Lois Havenor Eleva-Strum School District recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WEAU 13 News, "UPDATE: Joshua Stendahl elected to Eleva-Strum School Board," November 21, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 WEAU 13 News, "Petition looks to recall local school board president," September 13, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 WQOW, "Eleva-Strum parents ask for board president's resignation, begin recall petition process," September 13, 2017
- ↑ WDEZ, "Petition could lead to recall of school board president," September 14, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Eleva-Strum School District, "School board members," accessed September 18, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 School District of Eleva Strum, "Notice of Recall Election," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ WQOW.com, "Eleva-Strum school board president resigns after successful recall petition," October 3, 2017
- ↑ WEAU 13 News, "UPDATE: Eleva-Strum school board president resigns," October 4, 2017
- ↑ WQOW, "Concerned parents get enough signatures to recall Eleva-Strum school board president," September 20, 2017
- ↑ WEAU 13 News, "Petition to recall school board president moving forward," September 15, 2017
- ↑ School District of Eleva-Strum, "NOTICE TO ELEVA-STRUM SCHOOL DISTRICT VOTERS VOTING BY ABSENTEE BALLOT," accessed November 13, 2017
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