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Three Rivers Community Schools recall, Michigan (2016)
| Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Diana DeGraaf Erin Nowak |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education in Michigan failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot. The recall effort was started by a group called “TR Cares." They targeted board members Pete Bennett, Diana DeGraaf and Erin Nowak after they voted to not renew the contracts of three district administrators in the spring of 2015.[1][2]
This was not the first time TR Cares failed to get a recall on the ballot. The group tried to recall four other members of the board in 2015. One targeted member resigned, but TR Cares did not submit enough signatures to get the recall on the ballot for the other three.[3]
Recall supporters
TR Cares was first formed by Sherrie Nowicki, a resident of the district.[4] The group first discussed the possibility of recalling members when the board voted in the spring of 2015 to not renew the contracts of three district administrators: Pete Anderson, a district athletic director, Kevin Hamilton, the dean of educational services, and Bradley Coon, a middle school principal.[1] Members of the recall group were not alone in their concerns about the board's decision. High school students held a sit-down protest, and community attendance spiked at subsequent board meetings after the vote.[5]
The three targeted board members appealed the recall petition language on November 30, 2015, the last day they could do so. In response, Kelly Ward, an attorney representing TR Cares, said she was not surprised they waited until the last day to file the appeal. "It just shows they are thwarting the will of the people,” said Ward.[4]
Background
TR Cares and County Clerk Lindsay Oswald
In addition to twice attempting to recall members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education, the group TR Cares said it would endorse a candidate to run against St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald in the primary election in August 2016. Oswald was appointed to her position in July 2015. It was her job to certify the signatures submitted on the group's first recall attempt. When Oswald found they did not have enough valid signatures, TR Cares filed a lawsuit against Oswald. The group said she inconsistently dismissed signatures, which had resulted in a number of signatures getting thrown out. The attorney for the group accused Oswald of acting maliciously in order to keep the recall from the ballot. Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Alexander Lipsey ruled in favor of Oswald, saying she had acted impartially.[1][6][7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
On November 18, 2015, the St. Joseph County Election Commission determined that the petition language submitted by TR Cares was "clear and factual," according to Three Rivers Commercial-News. David Tomlinson, chairman of the Election Commission, said that the term "clear and factual" was used to describe how easily understandable the language was, rather than whether or not the statements were true. The targeted board members had a chance to appeal the petition to recall them after the Election Commission's ruling, which they did on November 30, 2015, the last day available to do so. Because of the appeal, the St. Joseph County Circuit Court had to make a final ruling on the petition within 40 days.[8]
The court did not take action on the appeal, which allowed the recall effort to begin collecting signatures. TR Cares had until January 29, 2015, to collect enough signatures to get the recall on the May 2016 ballot.[4][9] The group had to collect 1,165 signatures for each targeted board member.[10] The group was about 200 signatures short for each board member as of the deadline, so the recall did not make it to the ballot.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Three Rivers Community Schools' Michigan recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Three Rivers Community Schools, Michigan
- Three Rivers Community Schools recall, Michigan (2015)
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 WLKM, "TR Cares Plans Further Recall Effort," accessed November 12, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WLKM, "TR School Board recall effort fails," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ Fox 17, "Community seeking recall of board members following teacher layoffs," August 27, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sturgis Journal, "TR Cares appeals decision by county election commission," December 1, 2015
- ↑ Sturgis Journal, "Recall effort targets three," June 9, 2015
- ↑ WLKM, "Judge Makes Ruling Regarding School Board Recall," accessed October 7, 2015
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "Michigan: Petitioners threatening Three Rivers School," November 1, 2015
- ↑ Three Rivers Commercial-News, "Recall appeal filed," December 1, 2015
- ↑ WKLM, "TR Cares Begins Collecting Signatures in Recall Effort," accessed January 11, 2016
- ↑ Sturgis Journal, "Recall effort starts again," January 11, 2016
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