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Westford School Department recall, Massachusetts (2020)
| Westford School Department recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Chris Sanders Alicia Mallon MingQuan Zheng |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall four of the seven members of the Westford School Committee in Massachusetts did not go to a vote in 2020. The effort began in February 2020 and sought to recall Avery Adam, Chris Sanders, Alicia Mallon, and MingQuan Zheng after they voted against renewing the contract of Superintendent Everett "Bill" Olsen at an executive session board meeting on January 22, 2020. Board members Gloria Miller and Megan Eckroth also voted against renewing Olsen's contract, but they were exempt from the recall effort because their seats were up for election in 2020. Board member Sean Kelly cast the lone vote in favor of renewing Olsen's contract.[1][2]
Olsen's contract ended June 30, 2020. He first joined the school district as a business manager in 1986. He served as superintendent for 14 years.[1][3]
Recall supporters
The recall affidavit included the following reasons for recall:
| “ |
1) Holding several closed meetings that are likely to be found to not meet the Massachusetts open meeting 940 CMR 29.00: OPEN MEETINGS. It is our belief that voting on an employment contract in executive session goes far beyond discussing negotiation strategy. Meeting in open (summer) sessions and excluding senior staff from attending; |
” |
Mike Colson, president of the Westford Education Association, said that not renewing Olsen's contract would negatively impact staff morale. "The Westford School Committee announced Monday evening that a majority of the committee has 'lost confidence' in Superintendent Olsen’s leadership. I would like to make clear that the majority of Westford’s teachers have not," Colson told The Lowell Sun. "Increasingly however Westford’s teachers are losing confidence in the leadership of this School Committee."[1]
Recall opponents
Board member Chris Sanders said the board had lost confidence in Olsen's leadership due to a breakdown of communication between the superintendent and the board, potential procurement violations by Olsen, and developments with the 2021 budget that included cutting 11 school positions. "The School Committee had no desire to air these grievances publicly," Sanders said in a statement. "It’s potentially harmful to the individuals involved and to the reputation of the school system. We also had no desire to dishonor the legacy of a man who has served the school district and town for decades."[1]
In reaction to the recall effort, board member Alicia Mallon said, "The committee has heard from all sides and is working to come to a resolution. I hope the public will be patient while we do so. In the meantime, I will continue to work on budget, policy, and advocating for the inclusion of special needs students and families."[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to first submit 25 signatures from each of the town's six precincts. They submitted those signatures on March 3, 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, they would have had to collect signatures from 10% of voters in each precinct, approximately 3,000 total signatures, in 20 days.[1][2][5]
2020 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.
The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Westford School Department, Massachusetts
- Recall campaigns in Massachusetts
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Lowell Sun, "Recall papers drafted against Westford School Committee," February 14, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wicked Local Westford, "Group seeks recall of Westford school board members," March 4, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Westford Cat News, "Originator of Referendum Recall Election Seeks to Remove Six School Committee Members," February 19, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Westford Cat News, "COVID-19: School Committee Recall Election on Hold as Coronavirus Makes Residents Shelter Inside," April 10, 2020
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