Romulus Community Schools recall, Michigan (2022)
| Romulus Community Schools recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Judy Kennard Susan Evitts |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Romulus Community Schools Board of Education did not go to a vote in 2022. Debi Pyles, Judy Kennard, and Susan Evitts were named in the recall petitions.[1][2]
Recall supporters started the recall effort after the board voted to place Superintendent Benjamin Edmondson on leave on September 27, 2021. The board later voted to fire Edmondson on December 29, 2021.[1]
Pyles began serving on the board in 2017, Kennard began serving in 2018, and Evitts began serving in 2021.[2]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by Rita Hampton, a former educator and a resident of Romulus, Michigan. She said she started the recall effort due to a lack of transparency. Hampton said the board held Edmondson responsible for a financial situation he did not create. “He brought the Romulus school teachers back to work with a solid contract and attended a golf outing when he was recovering from surgery,” Hampton said about Edmondson. “He came here for less money during a pandemic. I respect him because he’s a man of his word. When he says he is going to do something, he does it.”[1]
Hampton said she and other members of the community became angry with board members as they gave Edmondson a positive review shortly before voting to put him on leave. She also said they did not agree with how decisions about Edmondson were made without public input or without the knowledge of all board members.[3]
“I’m going to keep on fighting because this is about the future of our society,” Hampton said.[3]
Recall opponents
Pyles said the board understood there were people who disagreed with their decision to fire the superintendent. She said it was a difficult decision to make and that they respected others' opinions.[1]
Pyles also said:[1]
| " | Our top priority right now is to get the district’s finances cleared up so we can all have confidence — not only in our budgets but our financial processes. This has been a long-standing problem for Romulus Community Schools. No district can operate this way, and as a group — accountable to students, parents, and taxpayers in the district, we are taking serious steps because we will not let this continue.[4] | ” |
In a statement written by Evitts and signed on by Pyles, Evitts said "their job as board members is to ensure students are learning, the taxpayers’ money is properly accounted for, and that schools are providing a safe, effective environment for students to prepare for their futures," according to the News-Herald. Evitts went on to say:[3]
| " | At a recent board meeting, we signed an agreement recommitting all of us to those goals. [...] It was a formal gesture, acknowledging the people of Romulus want us to stop bickering and work together for the kids.
Some board members chose not to join in that gesture. That is their decision. Some in the district want to continue pursuing a recall. Again, that’s their decision. If they put this much effort into helping the school move forward, our kids would reap those benefits. We’ve left the door open for them to join us in the work that lies ahead. We’re not fighting. We’re not bickering in public. We’re here for the kids of Romulus Community Schools, and we’re taking care of business for them, and that’s it.[4] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
Petitions against the three board members were approved in clarity hearings. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect approximately 3,000 signatures per board member.[2]
2022 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.
The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Romulus Community Schools, Michigan
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 News-Herald, "Romulus board president speaks out on recall; organizer prepared to take on members," January 15, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Romulus Community Schools, "Board of Education," accessed January 18, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 News-Herald, "Recall petition for Romulus school board members approved," February 12, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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