West Sonoma County Union High School District recall, California (2021)
| West Sonoma County Union High School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jeanne Fernandes Laurie Fadave |
| Recall status |
2 Did not go to a vote |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the five members of the West Sonoma County Union High School District board of trustees did not go to a vote in 2021. Board members Kellie Noe, Jeanne Fernandes, and Laurie Fadave were named in the notices of intent to recall.[1][2] Fadave resigned in July 2021, citing personal reasons.[3] The effort against Noe and Fernandes did not collect enough signatures.[4]
To get the recalls against Noe and Fernandes on the ballot, supporters had to submit 7,187 signatures from registered voters by August 28, 2021. Recall supporters submitted petitions by the deadline, but the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters found that only 3,084 signatures had been submitted, which ended the recall effort.[4][5]
The recall effort began after the three board members voted on March 10, 2021, to approve a plan to consolidate Analy and El Molino high schools.[1] The plan to consolidate the two schools was initially given conditional approval on November 30, 2020, pending the results of two tax measures that were on the ballot on March 2, 2021. Both of the tax measures failed when they did not reach the required two-thirds majority approval from voters.[6]
Noe's and Fernandes' terms were scheduled to be up for election on November 8, 2022. Both said they did not plan to run for re-election.[7]
Recall supporters
Recall supporters said they were not in favor of the consolidation of the high schools. Tasha Mattison, one of the leaders of the recall committee, said that the board members unfairly favored Analy High School.[1]
Gillian Hayes, another recall supporter, said the recall effort was one of several strategies they were using to keep El Molino High School. “Overall, our goals are to get the board to revote and not close El Molino High School [or] if they are going to choose to consolidate to do it in a thoughtful, longer term process," Hayes said.[1]
Recall opponents
Noe said the recall effort was heartbraking and disappointing. “I’ve worked really hard for the last 15 years of my life in a position that is, for all intents and purposes, volunteer and have always dedicated my time to what’s best for kids, and it’s just kind of heartbreaking to think that people really feel like I have bad intentions because that’s not true at all,” Noe said.[1]
Noe also said, “We’re trying to make the best of an awful situation and make sure that our kids have sports, our kids have music, that our kids have art. I wish things were different with school funding and we were in a different position and the reality is the state’s not giving us money.”[1]
“Ethically, it’s probably been harder for me than anybody else on the board,” Fernandes, a graduate of Analy High School, said about her vote to consolidate the schools. “But I have to stand by the fact that I feel we have to do what’s in the best interest of the kids, not alumni.”[7]
Before she resigned, Fadave said she understood where the recall supporters were coming from. She taught at Analy High School for 17 years. “The families of west county have had to endure more than their share of trauma over the last few years,” Fadave said. “I understand their sense of loss and the uncertainty about how this will affect their children. I am saddened, however, by the hostile and negative statements that have been directed at board members. It’s counterproductive.”[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters issued notices of intent to recall all three board members on March 26, 2021. The Sonoma County Elections Office approved the recall petitions for circulation. Recall supporters had 120 days to collect signatures equal to 20% of registered voters in the school district, a total of 7,187 signatures. The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters had 30 days to verify the signatures.[1][5][8]
2021 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.
The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- West Sonoma County Union High School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- School board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- West Sonoma County Union High School District
- Sonoma County Elections Office
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Sonoma West Times & News, "Recall effort on the rise against WSCUHSD trustees who voted for consolidation," April 3, 2021
- ↑ West Sonoma County Union High School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed April 16, 2021
- ↑ The Press Democrat, "West county school board member targeted in recall effort resigns," August 13, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Press Democrat, "Effort to recall West Sonoma County school board members fails," August 30, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Press Democrat, "Forestville parents say they have enough signatures to put 2 west county school board members up for recall," August 26, 2021
- ↑ The Press Democrat, "El Molino parents sue to halt school consolidation in west Sonoma County," April 22, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Press Democrat, "In west Sonoma County, residents try to recall 3 school board members," August 9, 2021
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with T.J. Knezek, Administrative Aide to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters," June 1, 2021
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