Grosse Pointe Public Schools recall, Michigan (2019)

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Grosse Pointe Public Schools recall
Officeholders
Judy Gafa Kathleen Abke Christopher Profeta
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Grosse Pointe Public Schools school board in Michigan did not go to a vote in 2019. The recall petitions were denied by the Wayne County Election Commission on June 26, 2019, due to insufficient clarity.

Board Treasurer Judy Gafa, Secretary Kathleen Abke, and member Christopher Profeta were targeted for recall while the board was discussing a plan to close and reconfigure schools in the district due to declining enrollment. The board voted 5-2 to close two elementary schools on June 24, 2019. Gafa and Abke voted in favor of closing the schools, while Profeta voted against.

Recall supporters

The recall petitions were filed by lawyer Genevieve Tusa on June 6, 2019. The petitions listed the plan to close the schools as a reason for the recall effort. The petitions said the following:

“

On June 11, 2018, the Board unanimously passed a resolution directing GPPSS officials to propose a plan to address declining student population and reconfigure schools. A Board meeting is scheduled for June 10, 2019, at which time the Board will consider approving a plan proposed by GPPSS officials to close schools.

”

Recall opponents

After the recall petitions were denied, Gafa said, “I am thankful for all the people who came to support us during the hearing, and that the majority of the election committee rejected the petitions."

Profeta said his first reaction to the recall effort was that it would be a more official process than people yelling at each other or being negative on social media. After the petitions were rejected, he said he believed the election commission made the right choice. “The language was not clear,” Profeta said.

“I was pleased the Wayne County Election Committee rejected the recall petition language. Interestingly, the petition was presented by a Lansing firm at the hearing,” Abke said. “It is still unclear how that came to be, but the election committee ruled in our favor. I’m especially grateful for the tremendous support we received during the process. I look forward to continuing the work I was elected to do.”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan

The recall effort began on June 6, 2019, when Genevieve Tusa filed the petitions with the Wayne County Clerk's Office. A clarity hearing was held on June 26, 2019. At the hearing, the Wayne County Election Commission rejected the recall petitions due to insufficient clarity.

2019 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 20 school board recall efforts against 47 board members in 2019. Three recall elections were held in 2019. The school board recall success rate was 6.4%.

The chart below details the status of 2019 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

• Grosse Pointe Public Schools, Michigan
• Recall campaigns in Michigan
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• School board recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Grosse Pointe Public School System
• Wayne County Clerk