Falcon school-board recall may proceed, county says

A recall effort targeting a Falcon School District 49 board member may proceed, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office decided Monday.

With the approval of the petition, a group of people angry about recent school board decisions and changes in the district has 60 calendar days to collect 4,306 signatures supporting a recall of board Vice President Christopher Wright.

Only voters within District 49 boundaries are eligible to sign the petition. Signatures must be submitted to the county office by Aug. 5.

Wright said the recall isn’t about him, but about the significant changes the district has made in recent months.

“I will not choose special interest groups over children,” Wright said. “They want to take money out of classrooms and put it into operations.”

In its petition, the recall committee — Benjamin Gregory, Mike Waller and Kathleen Hoder — allege Wright “intentionally ignored parental and public objections” and has wasted significant district funds on an “untested new management structure.”

In January, the school board unanimously approved a restructuring of the district as part of pursuing state innovation status, which permits schools to seek waivers of certain rules. The organizational changes shifted responsibilities and eliminated positions. The district spent about $1 million to wrap up contracts with top administrative positions.

“People are upset,” Gregory said. “People are tired of how the board has handled taxpayer money.”

District officials say the moves have saved millions of dollars and shifted decision-making power to schools.

“The public education system has to change, it’s not efficient,” Wright said. He characterized the view of those supporting the recall as: “Everything is just fine. Why change it?”

Wright said he has visited every school and parent-teacher organization in the portion of the district that feeds Falcon High School, and that other board members have visited the rest.

He said he wants the district information technology, maintenance, food services and transportation departments to operate efficiently and regulate themselves. He said more money and authority is being given to those dealing directly with students.

Wright said he’s received a lot of support from people in the school district and the community. Teacher and principals, he said, are most adamant about preserving the district’s structural changes.

Three board members must stand for re-election in November, so they are not the objects of a recall, Gregory said. The intent, he said, it to hold the recall election as part of the regular November election, to minimize costs to the district.

Once signatures are turned in to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, officialshave 10 business days to determine if the signatures are sufficient, said Jeff Weston, the county’s assistant elections manager. A 15-day protest period, to challenge any signatures, would follow. But Weston said it’s too soon to determine the date of the recall election if one is authorized.

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