Dee Prock, president of the Dolores school board, has resigned in the midst of a recall election effort against her.
In April, critics targeted Prock and fellow board member Vangi McCoy for a recall election.
Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Kim Percell announced in June that petition circulators Amy Lewis and Michael Smith obtained adequate signatures to hold the recall election, which is set for Oct. 9 via mail ballot.
The grounds for the recall, according to the petition, included school performance ratings that declined during Prock’s and McCoy’s terms, and that they “disengaged open communication and transparency by not following policies” set by the board.
Under the recall procedures, elected officials facing recall have until Aug. 31 to resign, and if they do, the recall against them is nullified.
Prock submitted her resignation via text message to fellow board members and Dolores RE-4A Superintendent Phil Kasper on July 23, Kasper said Monday.
McCoy has not resigned from the board, so the recall election for her is still moving forward.
The mail-in ballot will have two parts. First, it will ask registered voters whether to recall McCoy. If the answer is yes, the voter will choose a successor candidate listed on the ballot.
Successor candidate petitions are due Aug. 31, and must include at least 25 valid signatures from registered voters within the school district.
Keith Moore has turned in a petition to be a successor candidate on the recall ballot, Percell said, and the petition is under review. Lenetta Shull picked up a petition, but it had not been turned in as of Monday.
Ballots for the recall election will be mailed out on Sept. 24.
Prock has served on the board since 2014, when she was appointed to fill a vacant seat. She won a four-year term in 2015, and was up for re-election in 2019. She was voted in as board president in 2017.
The board will appoint a replacement for Prock, who will serve out her term. The vacancy will be announced at the Aug. 9 board meeting, and applications will be sought for the appointment.
A special meeting will be held to review applications and interview the candidates in public, Kasper said, then the board will vote on the appointment to fill the vacancy.
In her resignation text message, Kasper said Prock thanked board member for their support and cited work and family priorities for her departure.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com