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Raymond Knoff recall, Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25, Idaho (2025)
| Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Raymond Knoff from his position as the Zone 4 representative on the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 board of trustees in Idaho did not go to a vote in 2025. Recall supporters submitted over 900 signatures, but not enough were verified by the county to meet the 853-signature threshold.[1]
The recall effort started after the board voted 3-2 on January 21, 2025, to close Washington Elementary School after the 2024-2025 school year. The school was located in Zone 4 of the school district. Knoff, the area's representative, voted in favor of the closure. The district had lost more than $8 million in funding from the state since 2019 due to decreasing student enrollment.[2][3][4]
This was the third recall effort against school board members in the district since 2018. The 2018 effort started after the board voted to end the district's 20-year-old open enrollment policy that allowed students to choose which high school they attended. That effort was suspended before the deadline to submit petitions. Another effort was started in 2020 after the board voted to continue using a hybrid teaching model during the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That effort went to the ballot on March 9, 2021, but all three board members kept their seats.
Recall supporters
Recall supporters said they were concerned about how the decision to close Washington Elementary School was made.[2] The recall petition stated the following:[3]
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1. Trustee Knoff has refused to do his due diligence as a Trustee of Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25.
2. Trustee Knoff has not fostered a cooperative environment and has increased a loss of trust between Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25’s Board of Trustees and its patrons and the taxpayers.
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Recall opponents
“None of us wants to close a school,” Knoff said during the vote to close Washington Elementary School, “but we have got to maintain fiscal responsibility.”[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Idaho
No specific grounds are required for recall in Idaho. To get a recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 20% of registered voters in the jurisdiction at the last election for the office (for city and county officials). For special district officials, supporters must collect signatures equal to 50% of the number of voters in the preceding election for the seat. If there has not been an election in the last six years for the relevant seat, supporters must collect signatures equal to 20% of registered voters in the relevant district at the time the petition is filed. Signatures must be collected within 75 days.[6][7]
The petition against Knoff was certified to collect signatures on February 3, 2025. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to collect 853 signatures by April 21, 2025. To put the recall on the ballot in May, supporters had to submit the signatures by March 31, 2025.[2][3]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 22 school board recall efforts against 40 board members in 2025. Recall elections against three board members were approved by voters on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025, removing all three from office. Recall elections against two other members are being held on November 4, 2025. Recall elections against three other members are being held on November 18, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 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
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25, Idaho
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25, Idaho, elections
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall, Idaho (2020-2021)
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall, Idaho (2018)
- Recall campaigns in Idaho
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25
- Bannock County Elections Office
Footnotes
- ↑ Idaho State Journal, "Effort to recall local school board member Raymond Knoff fails," April 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Idaho State Journal, "Local residents file recall petition against Pocatello-Chubbuck school board member," February 3, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 East Idaho News, "Petition certified to recall school board trustee. Here’s what happens next," February 5, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Idaho Ed News, "Pocatello trustees decide to shutter Washington Elementary on a split vote," January 22, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Idaho Statutes, "Title 34 - Elections; Chapter 17 - Recall Elections: 34-1702." accessed April 28, 2021
- ↑ Idaho Statutes, "Title 34 - Elections; Chapter 17 - Recall Elections: 34-1704." accessed October 16, 2023
