The tally in the West Ada School District: Two competing recall drives, targeting all five school trustees.
After Tuesday night’s chaotic school board meeting — which saw trustees vote 4-1 to void a 2017-18 contract extension for Superintendent Linda Clark — one recall drive is targeting the four trustees that voided the contract extension. (The Idaho Statesman wrote about this recall drive Thursday.)
That recall names board chair Tina Dean and trustees Carol Sayles, Russell Joki and Julie Madsen. Joki and Madsen were just elected to the board in May.
One leader of the recall drive is Christine Donnell, Clark’s predecessor as district superintendent. Donnell — also a former member of the Meridian City Council — tried to rally support for the recall during Tuesday’s trustees meeting.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page has surfaced calling for a recall of Mike Vuittonet, a school board veteran and Clark supporter. Vuittonet was the lone trustee to vote Tuesday to keep Clark’s 2017-18 contract extension intact.
The contract extension is the key issue here, with recall organizers blasting Vuittonet for “signing illegal contracts and refusing to allow the board to correct the illegal behavior.”
On his Facebook page, Joki said he supports this recall, saying Vuittonet is “clearly involved” in the other recall drive, and saying Vuittonet had chaired a “rubber stamp” school board for years.
While the recall drives get rolling, the state’s largest district will be back before voters in just over one month, seeking a renewal of a two-year, $28 million supplemental levy.
And in more from the West Ada School District, here’s the latest on Joki’s lawsuit over student fees, from KIVI and KNIN TV.
