Idaho Falls School District 91 recall, Idaho (2020-2021)
| Idaho Falls School District 91 recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Lara Hill Hillary Radcliffe |
| Recall status |
2 Recall defeated |
| Recall election date |
| March 9, 2021 May 18, 2021 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Idaho Idaho recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
A recall election seeking to remove Lara Hill from her position as the Zone 3 representative on the Idaho Falls School District 91 board of trustees in Idaho was held on May 18, 2021.[1] Though a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of recall, the recall was not approved. The votes in favor did not meet the 591-vote threshold to remove Hill from office.[2][3]
A recall election seeking to remove Zone 4 representative Elizabeth Cogliati was held on March 9, 2021.[4] A majority of voters cast ballots against the recall, defeating the effort.[5]
The recall effort began after the board of trustees voted 3-2 on September 30, 2020, to move high schools in the district from in-person instruction five days a week to a mix of in-person instruction two days a week and online instruction the other three days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cogliati and Hill voted in favor of the change in instruction along with trustee Hillary Radcliffe, while trustees Paul Haacke and Larry Haws voted against it.[6][7]
Superintendent George Boland said the goal for the change in instruction was to reduce the number of coronavirus cases and related quarantines and absences at the high schools. The school district had reported 90 coronavirus cases among students and staff between the beginning of the school year and October 9, 2020. Recall supporters said the district's online classes were low quality and putting students at a disadvantage.[6][7]
The recall effort initially sought to recall all three board members who voted in favor of changing to hybrid instruction. The effort against Radcliffe did not collect enough signatures and did not submit the petition by the deadline.[6][8][9][10]
Hill was first appointed to the board of trustees in September 2018 and later elected in November 2019. Radcliffe was appointed to the board in June 2019, and Cogliati was elected to the board in November 2019.[7][9]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall vote
May 18, 2021
The recall election against Lara Hill was held on May 18, 2021.[1] In order for the recall to be approved, the total number of votes cast in favor of recall had to be equal or greater than the number of votes that first put the board member in office. For Hill, that threshold was 591 votes.[2]
Lara Hill recall, 2021
Lara Hill won the Idaho Falls School District 91 school board Zone 3 recall election on May 18, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
50.6
|
374 | |||
| ✔ | No |
49.4
|
365 | ||
Total Votes |
739 | ||||
|
|
March 9, 2021
In order for the recall to be approved, a majority of voters had to cast ballots in favor. The total number of votes cast in favor of recall also had to be equal or greater than the number of votes that first put the board member in office.[11]
Elizabeth Cogliati recall, 2021
Elizabeth Cogliati won the Idaho Falls School District 91 school board Zone 4 recall election on March 9, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
40.2
|
183 | |||
| ✔ | No |
59.8
|
272 | ||
Total Votes |
455 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by the group D91 Students Come First. Members of the group said they wanted the option for parents to send students to attend school in-person full-time.[12]
State Rep. Bryan N. Zollinger (R), who previously served on the Idaho Falls board of trustees, is a member of the recall group. He said the move to a mix of in-person and online instruction has strained students who lack support to help them learn at home. He also said some students' grades have suffered. “We’re just saying give the parents the option,” Zollinger said.[12]
Recall opponents
Cogliati said the change to a hybrid schedule of in-person and online instruction helped lower the high number of absences and quarantines that took place in the first month of the 2020-2021 school year. "We stopped seeing that when we put the classes into hybrid. We reduced the number of children in classrooms and … never had to fully close a school, which was something I was really worried about. No one wants us to close," Cogliati said.[13]
School district spokeswoman Margaret Wimborne said the district would continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments to best help students. "In everything they do, every decision they make, D91’s Board of Trustees, administrators, teachers and staff are always focused on what is in the best interests of our students, and no matter whether they are learning in school or learning at home, our teachers and staff are committed to teaching and supporting our students,” Wimborne said.[7]
Path to the ballot
The recall petitions against Hill and Radcliffe were approved for circulation by the Bonneville County Clerk on October 16, 2020. The recall petition against Cogliati was approved for circulation at a later date. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to submit petition signatures in 75 days. To get the recall against Hill on the ballot, supporters had to collect at least 480 signatures from registered voters. To get the recall against Radcliffe on the ballot, supporters had to collect at least 1,400 signatures. To get the recall against Cogliati on the ballot, supporters had to collect at least 280 signatures.[6][12] The number of signatures needed was equal to 50% of the votes cast at the last election in the zone the trustees represent.[7]
Recall petition signatures were submitted to the county for Hill and Cogliati on December 28, 2020. Recall supporters did not submit signatures to recall Radcliffe. The county had until January 12, 2020, to verify the signatures.[8] The county verified enough signatures for the recall against Cogliati to be placed on the ballot and scheduled that election for March 9, 2021. The county did not verify enough signatures for the recall against Hill to be placed on the ballot.[4]
Recall supporters filed a lawsuit over signatures that were rejected on the petition seeking to recall Hill. They said nine signatures had been incorrectly rejected.[14] On February 22, 2021, a district court judge ruled that the recall effort against Hill had also qualified for the ballot.[15] The election was scheduled for May 18, 2021.[1]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
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.
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.
Related recalls
- Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall, Idaho (2020)
- West Ada School District recall, Idaho (2020)
- Aaron Proctor recall, Whitepine School District, Idaho (2020)
See also
- Idaho Falls School District 91, Idaho
- Recall campaigns in Idaho
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bonneville County Elections, "Upcoming Election for 2021," accessed April 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Post Register, "Election night results: Bonneville levies, Idaho Falls recall," May 19, 2021
- ↑ Bonneville County Elections Department, "May 2021 Consolidated Election," accessed May 19, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Prudent, Election Supervisor, Bonneville County," January 14, 2021
- ↑ EastIdahoNews.com, "Recall elections fail in Idaho Falls and Pocatello/Chubbuck school districts," March 9, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Big Country News, "Initial recall petitions filed for two Idaho Falls School District trustees," October 16, 2020
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Post Register, "Growing protests in District 91 over vote on high schools," October 9, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Post Register, "Recall efforts advance against two Idaho Falls school trustees," December 29, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Idaho Falls School District 91, "Board of Trustees," accessed October 19, 2020
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Penny Manning, Bonneville County Clerk," October 23, 2020
- ↑ Idaho Ed News, "Trustees in Nampa, Idaho Falls face recall elections," February 11, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Idaho Ed News, "IDAHO FALLS TRUSTEES FACE RECALL AFTER SHIFT TO HYBRID LEARNING," October 16, 2020
- ↑ Post Register, "Recall of newest District 91 trustee placed on March ballot," January 22, 2021
- ↑ Post Register, "Lawsuit filed over rejected signatures in school board recall," January 28, 2021
- ↑ Post Register, "Judge rules County Clerk should accept signatures in school board recall effort," February 23, 2021
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