Richland 44 School District recall, North Dakota (2018)

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Richland 44 School District School Board recall
Officeholders
Lisa Amundson Josh Mjoness Sarah Myers
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
August 2, 2018
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in North Dakota North Dakota recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

A recall election seeking to remove three of the seven members of the Richland 44 School District school board in North Dakota was approved by voters on August 2, 2018. Former board president and Area 3 representative Lisa Amundson, Area 1 representative Josh Mjoness, and Area 6 representative Sarah Myers were removed from their positions. The recall effort was started due to fiscal concerns, according to recall organizers.

In the Area 1 recall election, Mjoness faced challengers Derek Beito and Scott Hendrickson. Hendrickson won the seat. In Area 3, Amundson was defeated by Amy Lehman. Myers faced Jody Lingen and Paul Lucas in Area 6, and Lingen won the election.

In March 2018, the school board placed Richland 44 Superintendent Tim Godfrey on paid administrative leave. The board's decision came after five male student-athletes in the district were charged with misdemeanor hazing, misdemeanor sexual assault, felonious restraint, and felony terrorizing in February 2018. In April 2018, the board voted 6-0 to accept Godfrey's resignation. He left after his contract expired on June 30, 2018. High school principal Bruce Anderson also announced in April 2018 that he would retire at the end of the school year. Athletic director John Freeman also left his position after the students were charged.

Amundson and Mjoness were next due to be up for re-election in 2019, and Myers was next due to be up for re-election in 2020.

Recall vote

Richland 44 School District, Area 1 Recall Election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Scott Hendrickson	51.3%	205
	Nonpartisan	Josh Mjoness Incumbent	38.8%	155
	Nonpartisan	Derek Beito	9%	36
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1%	4
Total Votes				400
Source: Richland #44 School District, "Richland #44 Daily Announcements – Summer 2018," accessed August 2, 2018

Richland 44 School District, Area 3 Recall Election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Amy Lehmann	58.7%	233
	Nonpartisan	Lisa Amundson Incumbent	39.5%	157
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1.8%	7
Total Votes				397
Source: Richland #44 School District, "Richland #44 Daily Announcements – Summer 2018," accessed August 2, 2018

Richland 44 School District, Area 6 Recall Election, 2018
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jody Lingen	53.2%	208
	Nonpartisan	Sarah Myers Incumbent	31.2%	122
	Nonpartisan	Paul Lucas	14.1%	55
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1.5%	6
Total Votes				391
Source: Richland #44 School District, "Richland #44 Daily Announcements – Summer 2018," accessed August 2, 2018

Recall supporters

According to recall organizers, the efforts against Amundson, Mjoness, and Myers were started due to fiscal concerns.

Recall opponents

None of the three targeted board members responded to the recall effort.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in North Dakota

The North Dakota Secretary of State approved the recall petitions for circulation on March 8, 2018. To get the recalls on the ballot, supporters had to collect signatures equal in number to 25 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the last election for each member. Amundson's petition required 70 signatures, and Mjoness' and Myers' petitions each required 40 signatures. Recall supporters had 90 days to circulate the petitions. They submitted the petitions on March 28, 2018.

The district's business manager had 30 days to verify the signatures. After they were verified, the targeted board members were given 10 days to resign or have their names added to the recall election ballot. None of them resigned, and the election date was set for August 2, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this race was May 30, 2018.

2018 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

A total of 33 school board recall efforts nationwide were covered by Ballotpedia in 2018. They included 74 board members. Twelve recall elections were held in 2018. The school board recall success rate was 28.4%.

Of the 12 efforts that made it to the ballot in 2018, eight were approved and the 20 targeted members were removed from office. Another two recall elections were defeated, and the targeted members kept their seats. One effort saw a mix of results: three members retained their seats, while the fourth was removed from his. Another recall election was held after the board member resigned. Her replacement was elected through the recall. The chart below details the status of 2018 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

• Richland 44 School District, North Dakota
• Recall campaigns in North Dakota
• Political recall efforts, 2018
• School board recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Richland 44 School District
• North Dakota Secretary of State