By Tommy Acosta
Associate Editor
Sedona AZ (May 6, 2015) – The effort to recall Sedona Oak Creek Unified School District Governing Board member Zach Richardson, has failed.
Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter notified Mr. Richardson of the failure in an email dated Wednesday, May 6, 2015.
“The recall effort against you was NOT successful,” Mr. Carter stated in his email. “The committee did not turn in the requisite petitions by deadline yesterday [May 5, 2015]. This concludes the matter.”
The effort to recall Mr. Richardson, was initiated by a committee of Sedona citizens concerned over the way the board member conducts official school business.
The recallers claimed that Mr. Richardson was a “bully” and was the driving force behind a decision to assign a second principal at West Sedona School during his tenure as governing board president.
The dual-principal model at WSS, was recommended by SOCUSD Superintendent Dave Lykins because of the school’s near-failing grade in last year’s AIMS testing, according to the district.
Four out of five board members had voted for the dual-principal model at WSS.
The recall committee believed by removing Mr. Richardson they could elect someone amenable to their perspective on education and reverse a perceived 3-2 voting block majority in the school board to their favor.
The recallers believed splitting the school into a dual-principal model was an insult to the standing principal, considered a top-notch educator by many of her supporters.
WSS Principal Dr. Lisa Hirsch did not seek a new contract for the next school year and has accepted a position in Sedona’s charter school.
Numerous negative articles and letters criticizing Mr. Richardson appeared in Sedona’s local print media but did not sway public opinion enough to get people to sign the recall petitions in numbers.
Mr. Richardson said he acknowledged the right of the recallers to petition his removal but knew from the start they would fail in their effort.
“Parents, teachers and members of our community know me,” he said. ‘They know how hard my family and I work to support the district. Despite what the papers say I am trusted and respected in the community, as evidenced by the recall failure. Although I acknowledge their right to do so, the recall effort hurt the students, the schools and our community. Had it succeeded I was prepared to run again and win with the full support of those who first elected me. Further, I have no intention of resigning.”
EDITOR’S NOTE : At press time the total number of recall-petition signatures collected is unknown. We are awaiting comment from the recall committee which will be added to this article as soon as it is received.
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4 Comments
The recall committee collected enough signatures to recall Zach if he had had opposition in the last election. One of the districts problems has long been a lack of involvement in school issues among parents and citizens of our district. The committee strongly feels it will go forward as an active voice in our schools and reserve the option to try to recall Mr. Richardson in the future. We feel the most recent action of the 3 man triumphant on the board of Richardson, Stovall and Miller to give Mr. Lykins a 20% raise in salary continues their record of mismanagement.
Eric, your comments make no sense, as usual. If there is an upcoming election, then there is no need for a recall. So what you are actually disclosing is that through all your efforts to attain signatures, you only received about 100, the amount required to be on the school board ballot. This number is far short of the 1,800 signatures Tim Carter suggested for a successful recall, only about 5% of the required signatures. Obviously Sedona did not support your recall efforts.
As to the superintendent’s salary, he is awarded the same compensation the whole board promised him 3 years ago. We have all learned that just because the Red Rock News makes a statement, it does not mean that their statement is true.
Please thank the recall committee for selecting you as their chairperson. As I will continually state, if I had to choose someone to chair a campaign against me, you would be my first choice, without hesitation.
Finally the vendetta is over, or is it.? I fail to understand Eric’s first comment about the lack of opposition to the election. What does that have to do with the unsuccessful recall that divided a school district and compromised the education of our children. The statement to possibly recall Mr. Richardson in the future demonstrates the obsession with an agenda aimed at one individual. Why not utilize that energy to enhance our schools, with everyone coming together, expressing their opinions, and moving forward. If Zach is I such a divisive force, if the Board is not in sync with the school system, I agree with you Eric. We must get them off the Board. Eric, it’s called an election. Gather your candidates, plan your strategy and place your energy, that was wasted on the recall, to get the candidates elected that you and your committee can rally behind.
1196 signatures (10% of the electorate) were required since in the last election you had no opposition. If there had been 3 candidates for the 2 seats we would have only needed 25% of the actual number voting. We collected many hundreds of signatures, some who indicated they were your friends Zach but felt your public persona was less that the wanted as a public face. Other board members have indicated that no guarantees of salary increases had been made to Mr. Lykins. Probably just another back room deal between you and him.