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Nyssa School District recall, Oregon (2024)
| Nyssa School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jeremy Peterson Susan Ramos |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Nyssa School District board of directors in Oregon did not go to a vote in 2024. The petitions were not submitted to the Malheur County Clerk's Office.[1]
The recall effort began in March 2024. Pat Morinaka, Jeremy Peterson, and Susan Ramos were named in the recall petitions.[2][3]
Peterson resigned from the board on April 8, 2024. He said he resigned due to a new law that required school board members to file a Statement of Economic Interest with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.[4]
Morinaka joined the board in 2018, Peterson joined in 2019, and Ramos joined in 2021.[2] Morinaka's and Ramos' terms were scheduled to expire on June 30, 2025, and Peterson's term was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2027.[3]
Recall supporters
The recall petitions were filed by Jacqueline Cuevas, a resident of Nyssa whose children attend the school district. Cuevas said the board failed to ensure migrant Hispanic families could be part of the review process for the new superintendent. She said the district set up a meeting for families participating in the migrant education program at the same time a community meet-and-greet was scheduled for a superintendent finalist.[2]
The recall petition listed the following reasons for recall:[5]
| “ | Given the recent vote for the Nyssa School District Superintendent, I Jacqueline Cuevas petition the recall of Nyssa School Board member [Ramos/Morinaka]. Together with the community, the school district, the students and the staff feel that [Ramos/Morinaka] has misrepresented the needs, values, and mission of the district in the vote established on March 14, 2024.[6] | ” |
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Morinaka submitted the following statement to the Argus Observer for both her and Ramos:[5]
| “ |
The Nyssa School District mission statement is simple yet encompassing and profound: ‘A community committed to student success.’ In December 2023, to ensure district progress and student success, the Board contracted with McPherson Jacobson, a nationally recognized executive recruitment firm, to assist in a nationwide superintendent search. This firm was not only cost-effective and had a proven track record, but it also provided two highly regarded consultants: Dr Douglas Nelson, former Bend-LaPine Superintendent; and Dr Gustavo Balderas, current Beaverton Superintendent, a native Spanish-speaker, Oregon School Superintendent of the Year, National School Superintendent of the Year, and a Nyssa High School graduate with family still living in Nyssa! In January, Dr Nelson and Dr Balderas met with focus groups which included school administrators, teachers, classified personnel, district office staff, students, and parent-community members and asked what qualities and characteristics they desired in a superintendent. In addition, Dr Balderas also met with a Spanish speaking community focus group. An online Spanish/English survey was also sent out and several responses both in English and Spanish were received. The consultants used interview and survey data and similar information received from individual board members to create a profile of the qualifications, qualities and characteristics desired in a Nyssa School Superintendent. They used this profile to trim the number of applications received to the 6 best candidates for Nyssa. The Board met in February and reviewed these 6 applicants and selected Derek Johnston to interview in Nyssa on 3/12 and Ryan Hawkins to interview in Nyssa on 3/13. These would be full days for the candidates as focus groups were scheduled to meet and talk with them, a community forum (with translators available) was scheduled at 5:30 and a 6:45 dinner with the Board would be followed by a formal Board interview. (Interviews for both candidates would use the same questions.) Because the Board wanted as many people as possible to meet/greet the candidates, two Board members and I did a YouTube video in English and Spanish advertising the date and time of the community forums. Susan and I regularly attend the MEP (Migrant Education Program) PAC meetings to hear the concerns and issues of our migrant students/families and we were in attendance when the dates and times for both community forums were announced in Spanish. Flyers were also distributed throughout Nyssa and on campus. Both Susan and I were at the very well-attended community forums on 3/12 and 3/13 and listened intently to questions asked of and answers given by the candidates. In addition, we both received numerous emails, phone calls and texts from NSD teachers and staff as well as from parents and community members regarding the candidates. The executive session on 3/14 was intense and grueling. Both Derek Johnston and Ryan Hawkins were excellent candidates. It was a very difficult decision. When the Board moved into open session, however, each Board member had made that difficult decision and each Board member voted as they believed. To state, then, that Susan and I ‘have misrepresented the needs, values and mission of the district’ in this 3/14/2023 vote is in itself a misrepresentation. As Board members, Susan Ramos and I have continuously supported and promoted the district mission statement and the values and needs of the Nyssa district. We have reached out to district staff, teachers, students and families. We listen to our constituents, our community, the NSD staff and administrators, the students and their families and we do what we believe is in the best interest of the Nyssa School District and the success of Nyssa students. Thank you.[6] |
” |
When Peterson resigned on April 8, 2024, he said that he was leaving because of the new requirement to file a Statement of Economic Interest. “I do want to make it clear that that’s the only reason that I’m resigning, not because of anything else that’s going on. The recall — I’m not mad about that — in fact I kind of wish I was going to stick around to see what happened with it,” Peterson said.[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
No specific grounds are required for recall in Oregon. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 15% of the votes cast in the last regular gubernatorial election in the relevant jurisdiction. Signatures must be collected within 90 days.[7]
To get the recalls against Morinaka, Peterson, and Ramos on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect 201 signatures per board member by June 18, 2024.[2]
2024 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 40 school board recall efforts against 83 board members in 2024. Recall elections in 2024 removed 14 members from office, including three who resigned before the election, and retained seven members in office. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2024 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Nyssa School District, Oregon
- Nyssa School District, Oregon, elections
- Recall campaigns in Oregon
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Gail Trotter at the Malheur County Clerk's Office," June 20, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Malheur Enterprise, "Nyssa parent seeks recall of board members over meeting conflict for Hispanic migrant famiies," March 20, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nyssa School District 26, "Nyssa Board of Directors," accessed April 9, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Argus Observer, "Nyssa sees one board member Jeremy Peterson resign due to SEI," April 9, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Argus Observer, "Nyssa Board members respond to recall effort," April 19, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Recall Manual," accessed October 17, 2023
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