Selma Unified School District recall, California (2015)

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Selma Unified School District Board of Trustees recall
Officeholders
John Lorona Roger Orosco Gilbert Lopez
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
March 11, 2015
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall John Lorona, Roger Orosco and Gilbert Lopez from their Trustee Area 1, 3 and 5 positions on the Selma Unified School District Board of Trustees in California officially began on March 11, 2015, when the three board members were served with "Notice of Intentions" at that evening's board meeting. The recall election was held on November 3, 2015, and all three members were voted out of office.

At a February 2015 meeting, Lorona, Lopez and Orosco voted to remove Superintendent Mark Sutton, overruling dissenting votes from Trustees Paul Green and Jennifer Winter. According to Assistant Superintendent Teresa Wood, the administrator was an at-will employee, meaning no reason was required for his dismissal. Sutton had served as superintendent of the district for seven years and had just signed a new contract with the district three months prior to the decision. Per the terms of Sutton's contract, the district was obligated to pay him $264,000 and provide his health insurance for 18 months.

A Facebook group called "Save Mark Sutton Selma Unified Superintendent" formed on January 31, 2015. The group originally focused on persuading the board not to cancel Sutton's contract and then turned its focus toward recalling Lorona, Lopez and Orosco.

Recall supporters submitted more than 2,000 signatures to the Fresno County Clerk's Office on a petition to recall the three board members. The clerk's office approved the petition in July 2015. The recall election was put on the general election ballot for November 3, 2015.

Three candidates ran to replace the three board members in the recall election. Mark Falcon won Lorona's seat, Andy Montijo won Orosco's seat, and Sara Rodriguez won the seat formerly held by Lopez.

A Fresno County grand jury later published a report that said the three ousted trustees had acted outside of their authority as board members on numerous occasions.

Recall vote

John Lorona, Trustee Area 1 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		191	64.31%
Retain		106	35.69%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Successor candidate, Trustee Area 1 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Mark Falcon		173	93.01%
Write-in votes		13	6.99%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Roger Orosco, Trustee Area 3 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		510	60.21%
Retain		337	39.79%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Successor candidate, Trustee Area 3 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Andy Montijo		512	89.2%
Write-in votes		62	10.8%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Gilbert Lopez, Trustee Area 5 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		259	56.92%
Retain		196	43.08%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Successor candidate, Trustee Area 5 Board Member, Selma Unified School District
Result		Votes	Percentage
Sara Rodriguez		267	89.9%
Write-in votes		30	10.1%
Election results via: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Summary Report," accessed December 2, 2015

Recall supporters

A special board meeting was scheduled for February 3, 2015, to discuss the discipline, dismissal, release or non-re-election of an employee. Sutton's name was not listed in this agenda as employee privacy was protected by state law; however, news quickly spread that he was the employee to be discussed. Over 200 community members attended the meeting. Due to the size of the crowd, Green asked for a vote to move the meeting to a larger venue, which was supported by Winter, but this motion was voted down by Lorona, Lopez and Orosco.

The discussion about ending Sutton's contract was held in closed session, but board members listened to two hours of public comments made by community members beforehand. These comments included direct appeals to the board's newest member, Gilbert Lopez, who was elected in November 2014. Community members also questioned how the board could justify Sutton's removal and threatened a recall effort. A few commenters spoke against Sutton, including one man who accused Sutton of being a bully and "supporting employees who used racial slurs toward himself and family member," according to The Fresno Bee.

Sutton did not speak at the meeting and left before the board's decision was announced. The announcement of the choice to remove Sutton resulted in boos and chants calling for a recall election.

Background

Grand jury report

A Fresno County grand jury published a report in June 2016 that said the three ousted trustees had acted outside of their authority as board members on numerous occasions. The investigation found that the board members had:

“	Issued disciplinary directives to administrators that were unauthorized by the board and sometimes based on false rumors. Violated board policy that defines specific roles and authority of trustees. Shared information regarding the personal activities of district staff and administrators, especially in the months leading up to the recall election. Violated district policies regarding campus visits and ignored procedures that ensure student safety – despite declaring students’ safety a top priority. Created a fear of being fired among staff and administration. Trustee A engaged in disrespectful behavior, verbal abuse, poor communication and lack of collegiality toward fellow trustees, staff and administration.	”
—The Fresno Bee (June 8, 2016)

The report reminded the sitting board members that they had to work as a collective group rather than as individuals. Board President Jennifer Winter said, “The report supports a mandate for a clear understanding of the role of the board. As a board, we don’t have individual authority.” She said she and the other board members had created a new governance policy handbook that addressed the issues in the grand jury's report.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in California

On March 10, 2015, recall proponents served Lorona, Lopez and Orosco with "Notice of Intention" paperwork, the first step in initiating a recall election. These notices were required to include a 200-word statement explaining why local voters sought the recall and had to be signed by at least 10 residents of the school district. Recall targets had seven days to submit a 200-word response to the county registrar.

Once the petition language was approved, supporters had 90 days from the date of approval to gather sufficient signatures. They submitted more than 2,000 signatures to the Fresno County Clerk's office, and the petition to hold a recall election was approved in July 2015. The recall election was held on November 3, 2015.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms "Selma Unified School District" school board recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Selma Unified School District recall, California (2015) - Google News

See also

• Selma Unified School District, California
• Recall campaigns in California
• Political recall efforts, 2015
• School board recalls

External links

Suggest a link

• Selma Unified School District
• Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
• Save Mark Sutton Selma Unified Superintendent Facebook page