Ellicott board member to resign; recall to proceed

Embattled Ellicott school board member Stefanie Dickinson is expected to resign from the board at a special meeting on Friday, officials said.

Dickinson, already targeted in a recall election in the Eastern El Paso County district, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of Internet luring of a child, a Class 4 felony, after a deputy found text messages from her on a 14-year-old’s phone offering to have sex with him, authorities said.

A special meeting is set for 6:45 p.m.  Friday to receive and discuss Dickinson's resignation, said Board Vice President Gary Lake. The recommended action is to accept the resignation.

The district administration has a letter from Dickinson, Lake said. 

Cindy Chambers, asssistant to Superintendent Terry Ebert, confirmed that the special board meeting Friday is regarding Dickinson's resignation.

After her arrest, Dickinson, 37, posted a $3,000 bond and is due in court Wednesday to be advised if charges are being filed against her.

She is accused of sending a series of text messages to a teen boy who had accompanied her family on a trip to Lake Meredith, near Ordway, in August, according to an El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrest warrant. (Read previous story here.)

She is the treasurer of the board and had been fighting a recall effort over concerns including poor fiscal oversight, teacher retention rates and less than stellar state test scores. The recall election will run in conjunction with the Nov. 1 election/

She is employed by the outpatient radiology department at Memorial Health Systems facility on Printers Parkway.

She has not returned phone calls to the Gazette.

Gary Dahn, one of two candidates who is running to replace her in the recall election, said: "I think it's good thing she is resigning. We didn't start the recall for no reason.

 "I feel a  lot better that that hurdle is gone."

The second candidate running for Dickinson's seat is Cody Chambers, who could not be reached for comment.

According to the El Paso County Clerk's office, the recall election will move ahead as scheduled even with Dickinson's resignation.

"We do not want the voters to be disenfranchised in selecting Ms. Dickinson's replacement," said Clerk Wayne Williams.

Colorado law requires a recall election to move ahead unless the person resigned within five days of the date the clerk certified the recall as sufficient. The petitions were certified on Aug. 24.

Williams emphasized that it is important for Ellicott voters to know that they must vote on Question 400 to either retain or recall Dickinson in order to have their vote count for a successor. The ballot is two part question - one is the recall and the other to select the replacement.