Chico Unified School District recall, California (2021)
| Chico Unified School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Kathleen Kaiser Tom Lando Caitlin Dalby |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall four of the five members of the Chico Unified School District Board of Education in California did not go to a vote in 2021. The recall petitions were not submitted by the deadline.[1]
The recall effort began in April 2021. Board members Eileen Robinson, Kathleen Kaiser, Tom Lando, and Caitlin Dalby were named in the notices of intent to recall.[2] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 10,806 signatures per board member by October 12, 2021.[3]
The effort started after the four board members voted in favor of continuing a hybrid morning/afternoon in-person instruction schedule for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Kaiser was first elected to the board in 2006, and Robinson was first elected to the board in 2010. Lando was elected in 2018, and Dalby was elected in 2020.[4]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
Recall supporters said the board had failed to fulfill its promise to return students to in-person instruction full time when the county reached the orange tier for the state's COVID-19 regulations. They said the board had ignored surveys that showed a majority of parents were in favor of full-time in-person instruction.[2][5]
Recall supporters also said students in the district had suffered by not returning to school full time with "record levels of learning loss, failing grades, mental health visits to our local hospital, and the tragic deaths of students due to suicide."[2][5]
"They've had months to come up with a plan, to implement a plan of us returning to full-time," Matthew Thomason, co-chair of the recall group, said. "There are enough people who voiced their opinions and donated to our cause that I think it is extremely likely that these board members will be recalled."[2]
Recall opponents
When the recall effort was first announced, Dalby said:
| “ | It’s understandable that people are upset and frustrated about the circumstances and everything that we’ve gone through the last year. Everybody is frustrated and tired and wants what’s best for kids ... I’m happy that the board is working together for the health and safety of our staff. We just need to stay focused with only 11 weeks left of the school year.[4][6] | ” |
Lando said that the group had every right to pursue a recall and that he applauded their engagement in the district. “One of the unpopular things we have to do is look at the district long-term and making sure we aren’t putting ourselves in a position to lose state funding or put ourselves in a position where we’re breaking any state laws,” Lando said.[4]
Robinson said, "I’m sorry a group feels a recall is necessary. It is a part of our political processes but by the time the process is completed, if successful, it would be nine months in the future. Their issue would no longer be relevant ... I’m sorry they have not agreed with our decision to continue on a.m./p.m. and not have to reassign as many as 1,000 students into new classes."[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters filed notices of intent to recall with the Butte County Clerk-Recorder's office on April 9, 2021. The county approved the recall petitions for circulation in May 2021. Recall supporters had 160 days to collect signatures equal in number to 15% of registered voters in the school district per board member. The number of signatures needed for each board member was 10,806 signatures, and the petition filing deadline was October 12, 2021.[2][3]
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.
See also
- Chico Unified School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with the Butte County Elections Office," October 13, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 ABC 7 KRCR, "Parent group officially files with county to recall majority of Chico school board," April 10, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Action News Now, "PARENTS BEGIN GATHERING SIGNATURES FOR THE CUSD BOARD RECALL," May 18, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Enterprise-Record, "CUSD board members respond to parent group’s recall initiative," March 5, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Facebook, "Chico Parents for In-Person Learning post on April 8, 2021," accessed April 19, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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