School Board Recall 7000 Strong! Reform Update 5

Welcome to my special newsletter about actions to change the school board. This is update 5.

This update includes:

  • The Big Three 

  • 7,000 Recall Inspirations

  • Recall Timeline

  • Communication Links

The goal of this newsletter is to bring people together, provide information on all the options to reform the school board, and give direction on how you can get involved. More than 1,500 parents and residents are newsletter subscribers so far. 

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Thanks for your support,
Joel Engardio

THE BIG THREE
A month ago, it was unclear who was going to lead the effort to change and reform the school board. The only certainty was the immense outrage felt by parents and residents. A number of loosely organized groups independently sprung up around the city. After lots of outreach and Zoom calls, three solid groups have emerged to work on three different and equally important issues: recall, long term structural change, and reopening schools. I’ve talked to the leaders of each group and they’re highly capable. Here are the Big Three:

  1. Recall SF School Board: The recall effort is run by parents Autumn Looijen and Siva Raj. Read about their background in my previous newsletter and watch an inspiring profile video.

  2. Better Public Schools: This political action committee is run by parents Patrick Wolf and Jennifer Butterfoss. They are focused on long term structural change that could include a charter amendment regarding how the school board is formed. I’ll write more about this group in my next newsletter.

  3. Decreasing the Distance: This parent group is focused on safely reopening public schools as soon as possible and run by Meredith Willa Dodson. Look for a profile on Meredith and her fellow parent leaders in a future newsletter. 

7,000 RECALL INSPIRATIONS
Recalls are hard and it’s been nearly 40 years since one qualified for the ballot in San Francisco. But parents Autumn Looijen and Siva Raj are not daunted. In the week since announcing the recall effort, nearly 7,000 people signed up to help!

7,000 is an inspiring number because it shows that the impossible is doable. As I wrote in a previous newsletter, you need 70,000 signatures (pen on paper) to get a recall on the ballot. Let’s do the math. So far, we have 7,000 people willing to help the recall. All they have to do is get 10 friends and neighbors to sign the recall petition and we’re at the 70,000 goal. Ten signatures is very doable, even in a pandemic.

You’ll be able to download a petition from the recall website, print at home, ask your neighbors to sign and then mail it back. There will also be socially distanced signature collection sites at homes, businesses, parks, and pop-up events. Drive-thru petition signing will be offered, too.

The actual petitions will be available in about four weeks. The legal timeline for a recall requires a lot of preparation before signing can begin.

Sign up on the recall website to be notified when the petitions are ready. 

Follow the recall group on Facebook to learn about signing events. 

RECALL TIMELINE
It’s important to understand that recalls take time. If everything goes smoothly, the soonest a recall can appear on a special election ballot would be late November or early December 2021. Much of the timeline is dictated by law. Here is what the timeline looks like with a February start:

  • February 22
    Serve Notice of Intention on school board members by personal delivery or certified mail. Also file Notice of Intention and proof of service with the Department of Elections within 7 days of serving the Notice of Intention on school board members.

  • March 1
    Response of school board members within 7 days of filing/service of Notice of Intention. They must file a response up to 200 words with the Department of Election and must serve by personal delivery or certified mail on proponents.

  • March 11
    Proponents must file proof of publication along with copies of the petition with the Department of Election within 10 days of the school board members serving/filing their response. 

  • March 21 or March 31
    The Department of Elections decides if the petition meets all legal and formatting requirements within 10 days of submission. If requirements are not met, the Department of Elections will notify the proponent of the necessary changes. Within 10 days of receiving this notification, the proponent must file a corrected petition. 

  • September 7
    Once petition format is approved, proponents have 160 days to gather signatures. Assuming a March 31 start date for circulation, the deadline to submit would be September 7.

  • October 7
    Signature verification by the Department of Elections within 30 days of submission.

  • January or February 2022: Special Recall Election
    If enough signatures are verified, the Department of Election must call a special election to be held within 105 to 120 days after verification. 

    NOTE: A January or February 2022 recall election is based on taking the entire 160 days allowed to gather signatures. The earlier the 70,000 signatures can be collected, the earlier the recall election. For example, if the signature gathering takes 100 days, the special election would be in late November or early December 2021.

COMMUNICATION LINKS
It’s important that we can find and share information in a central place on social media. 

Facebook

Nextdoor

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NOTE: This newsletter and previous updates are also published as blog posts. Click to read and share on social media:
Update 5
Update 4
Update 3
Update 2
Update 1


Education, PoliticsJoel Engardio