A petition filed with Montezuma County seeks to recall Dolores School Board President Dee Prock and school board member Vangi McCoy.
The petition claims that both school both members have failed to follow transparency policies and have contributed to a decline in student performance.
According to Montezuma County Clerk Kim Percell, the two circulators listed on the petition are Amy Lewis and Michael Smith.
The petition format was approved on March 27. Lewis and Smith have 60 days, until May 28, to collect the required 335 signatures.
The total of 335 signatures is based off 10 percent of electors residing in the district because the 2015 election was canceled due to no contest, Percell stated.
If the circulators receive the required number of signatures, the county has 15 days to verify that the petition signatures are valid and registered voters.
“If it is insufficient, the proponents have 15 days to cure the petition,” Percell wrote in an email to The Journal. “Next there is a protest period, then the incumbent has five days to resign before setting an election date for the recall.”
The protest period is within 15 days of the date the designated election official issues the sufficiency statement.
McCoy was appointed to the Dolores School Board in 2009 and will be termed out in 2019. Prock was appointed in 2014 to a four-year term and will be up for re-election in 2019.
If the petition is successful, successor candidate petition formats may be filed with the designated election official on the initial statement of sufficiency or insufficiency, according to Percell. An election would have to take place no more than 60 days from the date the protest period is concluded.
Prock responded to the recall in an email to The Journal on Wednesday morning.
“Participating in a recall is part of our individual rights ... I embrace that,” Prock wrote in the email. “The members of the school board are volunteers and have an obligation to learn and work together for the benefit of our students. I am confident that this board, the school and the community have a shared enthusiasm for providing a safe and quality learning environment for our school.”
Lewis declined to comment on the matter on Tuesday as she collected signatures at a baseball game at Joe Rowell Park in Dolores.
The Journal was unable to reach McCoy and Smith for comment.
The statement of grounds for recalling McCoy says:
“Ms. McCoy has been on the school board for the past 8 years, and during her leadership the Dolores School has gone from elite status to one of the lowest in the state and now currently in a Turnaround, which is the lowest performance rating.
“Ms. McCoy is disengaging open communication and transparency by not following policies set forth by the RE-4 Board. Ms. McCoy’s leadership cannot be tolerated by the residents of the Dolores School District any longer.”
The statement of grounds for recalling Prock says:
“Ms. Prock has been on the school board for the past 4 years, and during her leadership the Dolores School has continued to decline and currently is in a Turnaround, which is the lowest performance rating.
“Ms. Prock has disengaged open communication and transparency by not following policies set forth by the RE-4 Board and the inability to properly run a school board meeting. Ms. Prock’s behavior cannot be tolerated by the residents of the Dolores School District any longer.”
This article was reposted on April 5 to correct the deadline to collect petition signatures and the number of required signatures.
