Coachella Valley Unified School District recall, California (2016)
| Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Lowell Kamper Manuel Jarvis-Martinez |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three members from the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Education was dropped in February 2016, one week before the deadline to turn in petitions. The group "Our Coachella Valley Our Kids" targeted Board President Maria Machuca, Board Vice President Lowell Kamper and board member Manuel Jarvis-Martinez for recall. They cited poor test scores and the multi-million dollar District Community Education Support Complex the district was in the process of building as reasons for the recall effort. The group said they could not accuse the board of misusing funds if they required the district to spend between $40,000 and $50,000 on a recall election.[1][2]
The terms of Machuca, Kamper and Jarvis-Martinez were up for election in November 2016.[3][4] The three members were previously targeted for recall in 2013. The recall attempt failed to gather enough signatures to go to the ballot.[5]
Recall supporters
The Our Coachella Valley Our Kids recall group was organized by Roel Sanchez in June 2015. The group said it had problems with how the district's funds were being spent. They also said they had seen the district's education "take a turn for the worse," according to The Desert Sun. A total of 3 percent of the district's students were considered college ready in English, according to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test. Math proficiency was slightly lower, with 2 percent of students testing college ready. These scores came from a newly implemented test that was tied to the Common Core standards. State and district officials said the scores were expected to improve over time, but Sanchez and the Our Coachella Valley Our Kids group said they were tired of their district's scores falling behind other school districts in the region.[6]
One reason Our Coachella Valley Our Kids initially targeted Machuca, Kamper and Jarvis-Martinez for recall was that they voted in favor of the second phase of the new District Community Education Support Complex. The first phase of the complex was approved in 2014 and was projected to cost $37 million. It included the construction of a new transportation building for the district's buses. The vote on phase two was held in June 2015, and passed 5-2, with board members Blanca Torres Hall and Joey Acuña Jr. voting against. Phase two included an administration building, a board room, technology facilities and nutrition services.[1][6]
Both Hall and Acuña spoke in opposition to the new complex. "The district complex they are trying to build is way excessive. There's a lot here we don't need. I think they overreached," said Acuña. Hall said the district should have concentrated on other projects before voting to move forward with the new complex. "There are other facilities at schools that need to be looked at before the district offices," she said.[1]
Funds from the $250-million bond that was passed in 2005 were used for the complex. According to Acuña, those funds were ear-marked to build a new school and remodel older schools, but the new complex was technically considered a new facility, which was allowed under the terms of the bond. After phase one and two, $30 million of the bond's funds were left for other projects.[1][6]
In response to the second phase of the new district complex, Sanchez said, "They do as they see fit, which is not fair for teachers and students and parents." The recall group said the funds for that project would have been better spent on schools.[6]
Sanchez said district politics in recent years had led to high turnover for both teachers and administrators. Rather than waiting until the targeted board members' terms were up for election in November 2016, he said he wanted to move forward immediately. "I don't want to wait. The community doesn't want to wait. We've been waiting for six years," said Sanchez.[6]
Sanchez said the recall effort against the three members was dropped because the cost of holding a special election was "weighing on people's hearts." He said they could not accuse the board of misusing funds while also required the district to pay between $40,000 and $50,000 for a recall election. "With great reluctance, we have decided to listen to the people and draw back from proceeding with our recall effort," said Sanchez.[2]
Recall opponents
Both Kamper and Machuca spoke against the recall effort due the cost the district would have to cover. They both highlighted the fact that their terms would be up for regular election a few months after the earliest a recall election could be held. Machuca said a special recall election could have cost the district between $40,000 and $50,000.[6]
Machuca also spoke in favor of the new District Community Education Support Complex. "We've been in temporary structures since the district became unified over 40 years ago. That was a need we saw to have a structure that our employees can be proud of that is also a safe environment," she said.[1] Machuca said she wanted to know what the recall supporters planned to do if they were successful. "If they feel this way, do they have a plan to address all these issues? What is their plan aside from taking us out?" Machuca said.[6]
Superintendent Darryl Adams said the district would not have enough funds to build a new school and remodel older ones until the state matched its funds. In the meantime, Adams said the new complex would be able to provide services to the whole community, including free internet access, which he said should be a point of pride for the district. "You can always say, 'You should have done this, should have done that,' but at the end of the day someone has to make a decision (and) I'm tired of losing teachers to Desert Sands and Palm Springs because we're in portables," said Adams.[1]
Board member Meagan Caress wrote a statement of support for Machuca, Kamper and Jarvis-Martinez. She said, "I have seen these three recalled board members work hard to participate in district functions, attend various workshops, monthly board meetings and provide a listening ear to those willing to speak to them. No one is perfect, but I feel these three individuals try to do what is best for students, teachers, district employees, families, and the whole Coachella Valley community."[1]
Path to the ballot
On November 2, 2015, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters certified the petition to recall Machuca, Kamper and Jarvis-Martinez. Our Coachella Valley Our Kids had until March 1, 2016, to collect 4,136 signatures to get the recall on the ballot.[1][6] They dropped their effort against the three board members in February 2016.[2]
About the district
Coachella Valley Unified School District is located in southern California in Riverside and Imperial Counties.[7] The county seat of Riverside County is Riverside, and the county seat of Imperial County is El Centro. In 2014, Riverside County was home to 2,329,271 residents, and Imperial County was home to 179,091 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8][9] The Coachella Valley Unified School District was the 85th-largest school district in California, serving 18,850 students in the 2013-2014 school year.[10]
Demographics
Both Riverside County and Imperial County underperformed compared to California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 20.5 percent of Riverside County residents aged 25 years and older and 13.3 percent of Imperial County residents of the same age had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 percent of state residents. The median household income for Riverside County was $56,529 and for Imperial County $41,807, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level for Riverside County was 16.2 percent, for Imperial County it was 23.3 percent, and it was 15.9 percent statewide.[8][9]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Coachella Valley Unified School District' recall California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Coachella Valley Unified School District, California
- Coachella Valley Unified School District Board recall, California (2013)
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Desert Sun, "CVUSD board members divided on recall," November 4, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Desert Sun, "CVUSD recall effort stalls amid calls for fiscal responsibility," February 23, 2016
- ↑ Riverside County Registrar of Voters, "November 4, 2008, Final Official Election Results," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ Riverside County Registrar of Voters, "November 2, 2010, Final Official Results," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ MyDesert.com, "Coachella Valley Unified School District recall effort falls short," December 2, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 The Desert Sun, "Parents rally for CVUSD board recall," November 3, 2015
- ↑ Mapboundary.com, "Coachella Valley Unified, CA (USD)," accessed November 23, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Riverside County, California," accessed November 23, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 United States Census Bureau, "Calexico, California," accessed November 23, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ County of Riverside Registrar of Voters, "Past Elections," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Imperial County Registrar of Voters, "Previous Election Results," accessed July 15, 2014
| |||||||||||||
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |