Group seeks to recall all school board members for slow reopening

“There is an element of trust that has eroded. I hope nobody sees this as punishment (of the trustees) — this is another means of pressure so the board members hear our voices and react to them.”

— Walter Eckalbar, organizer of parent’s Facebook group that has about 900 members

All five trustees of the Mount Diablo Unified School District board could face a recall effort by some parents who are upset the district did not reopen classrooms quickly enough as the number of COVID-19 cases began declining this year.

The trustees — Board President Cherise Khaund, Vice President Debra Mason, Keisha Nzewi, Linda Mayo and Erin McFerrin — could be fighting for their seats this November if organizers gather enough recall petition signatures.

After the board and teachers union approved a negotiated agreement earlier this month, the district reopened all campuses for a hybrid model of distance learning and in-person instruction. over the past week. The district intends to reopen for full in-person instruction starting next school year.

Because the number of COVID-19 cases have been steadily dropping, the district could have welcomed students back to campuses about five weeks ago in some grade levels. But the school board held off until the district reached a compromise with labor groups. Teachers argued at the time it would be unsafe to reopen campuses in cities hit harder by the pandemic.

Now, some parents say the delay kept their students out of classrooms too long. Others continue to oppose the district’s hybrid format, which brings students to class for only a few hours on certain days of the week.

Many families would prefer something closer to full five-day school weeks, a recall organizer said in an interview.

“There is an element of trust that has eroded,” said Walter Eckalbar, who is organizing parents in a Facebook group that has about 900 members. “I hope nobody sees this as punishment (of the trustees) — this is another means of pressure so the board members hear our voices and react to them.”

Organizers plan to serve each trustee this week with a recall notice containing 10 signatures they obtained from voters in that trustee’s district area.

To actually get a recall election on the November ballot, the organizers will need petition signatures from 20% of voters in a trustee’s district, or about 5,000 to 7,000 each, said Eckalbar, whose child attends school in Trustee McFerrin’s area.

The organizers would have 120 days from the day the county files the intent to recall to get enough signatures from each district area to trigger a recall election.

Recall effort organizers haven’t yet nominated any candidates to run against the trustees, he added, though a few parents have informally put their names forward.

Mount Diablo Unified trustees did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But board president Khaund did address recall grumblings on Facebook in early March, two weeks before the board approved reopening dates.

Khaund wrote that anyone looking to replace her on the board was “welcome” to submit a recall notice.

“Please do keep in mind, however, that recalls are expensive and would pull financial and staff resources away from the reopening effort and our schools, unfortunately,” Khaund wrote. “Another option for those who are excited to serve this wonderful district is to run for my position in 2022, which will be here before we know it.”