Recall process underway for trustee

The board chair of Lakeland Joint School District Board of Trustees is under process of recall with the notice delivered on Tuesday.

Terri Skubitz, organizer of the recall petition group, said they turned in over 230 signatures to make sure they had enough for a margin of error to meet the requirement of 198 valid signatures to recall Michelle Thompson.

“I think we’ve done a good job of raising the issue,” Skubitz said. “We have a lot of people that have connected with us, but I think the effort continues.”

She said she filed the petition to recall Thompson for what she said was violating board member codes and failing to represent the electorate.

Skubitz said she is unhappy with the trustee's performance including the decision not renew Superintendent Becky Meyer’s contract.

Thompson voted not to extend the 3-year contract for an additional year in June 2020.

Thompson said the accusations and information presented by the petition are false.

She said the superintendent's contract was never up for renewal and she remain under contract until June 2022.

"I, personally, didn’t think it was prudent to extend the most expensive contract the district had during a pandemic when no one else had any guarantee of continued employment," Thompson said Tuesday in an email to The Press.

Thompson has five business days to resign or there will a special vote on the Nov. 2 election.

The initial petition to recall was verified Aug. 6, and per Idaho Code 34-1704, Skubitz was given 75 days to collect and file signatures to the elections office to continue the recall process.

According to Idaho Code 34-1702 subsection (5), the petition must be signed by 50 percent of the number of electors who cast votes in the last election of the school trustee zone.

According Idaho Code 34-1701 subsection (3), if the requirement of the certified signatures is met, the county clerk shall provide notice to the officer being recalled, petitioner, and governing board of the city or special district.

Per the same statute, “If the officer being recalled resigns his office within five business days after notice from the county clerk, his resignation shall be accepted and the resignation shall take effect on the day it is offered, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law.”

If the officer does not resign, a special election shall be ordered by the county clerk on the next available date of the four regularly scheduled election dates.

Thompson said Skubitz, organizer of Save the Lakeland Way, a Facebook page outlining the recall petition, has not contacted her regarding any actions she has taken as a trustee.

Thompson said she doesn't plan to resign by Sept. 14 but will keep her office unless voted out.

“I was elected to represent Zone 3, and I plan on continuing to represent Zone 3 until the voters tell me otherwise,” Thompson said. “Instead of focusing on the education our children will receive by returning to school, five days a week, SLW’s (Save the Lakeland Way) actions are self-serving and pitting the district against the board.”

If Thompson doesn't resign, a recall ballot will be included on the Nov. 2 ballot which will include a statement of reasons for recall from the petitioners as well as a rebuttal from Trustee Thompson. Voters can choose whether or not they are in favor of recalling the officer.

Per Idaho Code Section 34-1712, for the recall to pass, the majority of the votes must be in favor of the recall, and additionally, they must equal or exceed the votes cast at the last general election for that officer.

If the recall passes the officer shall be recalled at the time the results are proclaimed.

Per the same Idaho Code, if the recall fails, “The officer shall continue in office and no further recall petition shall be filed against the same officer during the remainder of his current term of office unless the persons wishing to recall him first pay into the public treasury the whole amount of the cost of the preceding recount. The specific reason for the first recall cannot be the basis for a second recall during that current term of office.”

Per Idaho Code 34-1709, the trustee under recall will continue to perform the duties of their office until the results of the election are officially proclaimed.

Skubitz said she believed Thompson would not resign so it was important for them to talk to the community and meet the deadline to get the special election on the November ballot.

The Save the Lakeland Way group held outdoor drive-through events and went door to door to gather signatures.

“Not all of them were in Zone 3 where we needed the signatures, but it was a good opportunity to talk to people and tell them about the issues and explain to them what’s happening in our school district,” Skubitz said. “We found that a lot of people needed to hear what was going on and were concerned.”

Thompsons said there is no evidence to support the claims made in the petition.

“SLW seems quite biased and skewed and is creating a divisive environment,” Thompson said. “The social media campaign led by a small group of hostile people asking for my removal as trustee is frustrating. As I stated before, I replaced Tim Skubitz, and he and his wife are on a campaign to have me removed.”

Thompson defeated incumbent Tim Skubitz in the 2019 election for the Lakeland Joint School District in Zone 3.

Teri Skubitz said she and her husband are not planning to run for the trustee seat.