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Platte Canyon School District 1 recall, Colorado (2016)
| Platte Canyon School District 1 Board of Education recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jon DeStefano |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 8, 2016 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Chet Lawrence and Jon DeStefano from their positions on the Platte Canyon School District 1 Board of Education in Colorado was on the ballot on November 8, 2016.[1] Voters cast ballots to retain both incumbents.[2]
All five members of the Platte Canyon Board of Education were originally targeted for recall in June 2016. A group called Parents and Citizens for Education (PACE) began the process to recall Lawrence and DeStefano as well as their fellow board members Katie Spodyak, Katy Davis, and Susan Carpenter, but PACE was unable to collect enough signatures to recall the other three. The recall group cited low scores on the ACT, low graduation rates, poor management, and concerns about water quality and emergency exits at one of the district's schools as reasons for the recall. Members of PACE also said that the school board "discourages public involvement in decisions," according to the High Timber Times. In response to the recall effort, Lawrence and Spodyak, the president and vice president of the board, respectively, defended their leadership of the district. They also said the recall effort stemmed from fear of change.[3]
Without the recall, Lawrence would next have been up for election on November 7, 2017, and DeStefano would next have been on the ballot on November 5, 2019.[1] All five board members were unopposed when they were last elected or re-elected to their seats in 2013 and 2015. No school board seats had been contested in elections since 2009.[3][4]
Recall vote
| Jon DeStefano, At-Large Board Member, Platte Canyon School District 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,266 | 34.39% | ||
 Retain | 2,415 | 65.61% | ||
| Election results via: Park County Clerk & Recorder, "Platte Canyon School Board Recall," accessed November 9, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
| Chet Lawrence, At-Large Board Member, Platte Canyon School District 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Recall | 1,231 | 34.47% | ||
| Retain | 2,340 | 65.53% | ||
| Election results via: Park County Clerk & Recorder, "Platte Canyon School Board Recall," accessed November 9, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Recall supporters
Bryan Curtis, president of PACE’s board of directors and a district parent, said the group considered itself a watchdog organization. He said PACE "wants the community to have a bigger say in decisions that affect the school district," according to the High Timber Times.[3]
Recall opponents
Lawrence and Spodyak, who served as president and vice president of the board in 2016, respectively, said they were disappointed in the recall effort. They both defended their leadership of the district. Lawrence said the recall effort stemmed from fear of change. “We hired Dr. Krage last year, and this year has been a year of some changes. I think whenever that happens, that kind of changes the playing field," said Lawrence.[3]
Platte Canyon Superintendent Brenda Krage called the recall effort "counterproductive," according to the High Timber Times. “I’ve worked with many school boards during my career, and this is one of the best, most effective and student-centered boards I’ve ever worked with,” said Krage. “I think the efforts by this group are adversarial to the district, and I think energies could be brought forward in a more positive way.”[3]
In August 2016, a group called Save the Board formed to oppose the recall effort. Rob Elsner, leader of the group, said it would be better for the community to work through issues with the board rather than replace it, according to the High Timber Times. Members of Save the Board were particularly concerned with how much a recall election would cost the district.[5]
Spodyak's response
Spodyak published an open letter to the community on 285Bound.com on July 29, 2016.
| “ | Hi 285 Bound Community,
My name is Katie Spodyak and I am a board member on the Platte Canyon School District Board of Education. There is currently a group going around the community that is working to recall me, as well as the other four school board members. I will not get into all of the details on this post. As a board member I am limited to what I can say publicly and I can only speak for myself and not the board. I am reaching out to you, speaking for myself personally, and asking you to be informed before signing something. Another community group has put together a website to help bring truth to the issues the PACE group has raised. Feel free to check out savetheboard.com or just reach out to me personally. I am happy to talk to anyone about any of the issues they have presented or anything else you are concerned about. Please don't hesitate to reach out and we can set up a time to chat. My email address is kspodyak@plattecanyonsd1.org. Please use that vs. private message as I may not see the private message. I am proud of my time on the school board and I am proud of our school district. I feel so blessed that my husband and I are able to raise our sons in the community we grew up in. This recall effort will cost the school district and ultimately the taxpayers a lot financially. However, the costs of this recall effort to the school district, the community and our children go way beyond financial. I believe there are more productive ways to collectively come together as a community to work toward solutions to our problems and make our district better. Platte Canyon School District has outstanding and passionate teachers, staff, administrators and parents. I see no reason we can’t work together for solutions instead of launching personal attacks on people. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Katie Spodyak[6] |
” |
| —Katie Spodyak (July 29, 2016)[7] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
Members of PACE began collecting signatures on June 19, 2016, to recall the five board members. In order to get the recall on the November 2016 election ballot, PACE had to submit approximately 650 signatures per board member.[3]
Supporters of the recall submitted their petitions targeting all five board members on August 22, 2016. Though enough signatures were verified to get the recall on the ballot, according to the Park County Clerk and Recorder, the county had to wait until September 12, 2016, to allow community members to lodge any protests over the validity of any of the signatures before the election date could be set. A total of 177 signatures were withdrawn during that protest period, rendering the petitions insufficient. The recall group had until September 28, 2016, to submit more signatures.[8][9] The recall group submitted enough additional signatures to get the recall against Lawrence and DeStefano on the ballot on November 8, 2016.[1] Citizens of the district voted to retain the two members.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Platte Canyon School District 1' recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Platte Canyon School District 1, Colorado
- Recall campaigns in Colorado
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
- Platte Canyon School District 1
- Park County Clerk & Recorder
- PACE 4 PCSD
- Save the Platte Canyon School Board
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 High Timber Times, "Recall of two Platte Canyon school board members will be on ballot," October 12, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Park County Clerk & Recorder, "Platte Canyon School Board Recall," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 High Timber Times, "All five members of Platte Canyon school board targeted for recall," June 24, 2016
- ↑ Platte Canyon School District 1, "Board of Education," accessed July 5, 2016
- ↑ High Timber Times, "Group forms to counter efforts to recall Platte Canyon school board members," August 2, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 285Bound.com, "An Open Letter to Platte Canyon School District Community," July 29, 2016
- ↑ High Timber Times, "Clerk verifies signatures in Platte Canyon school board recall," September 1, 2016
- ↑ High Timber Times, "Clerk declares three petitions insufficient in Platte Canyon school board recall," September 15, 2016
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