BOULDER, Colo. — Three of the seven Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Board of Education directors face a potential recall election. The board announced that petitions were filed with the Boulder County Clerk.
BVSD also created a webpage on the district's website that explains how the possible recall election could play out – including costing the district an estimated $651,415 - $668,133 an amount the district has not budgeted for. The cost would be distributed between Boulder, Gilpin and Broomfield counties.
The estimated cost from each district would be:
- BVSD - $524,683
- Gilpin County - $18,450
- Broomfield County - $108,282 - $102,500
The district said it learned of the recall petitions on Friday. Three BVSD board members are included in the recall petitions:
- Vice President Kathy Gebhardt in District C – her term expires in 2023.
- Richard Garcia in District G – his term expires in 2023.
- Lisa Sweeny-Miran in District A – her term expires in 2023.
The recall petition announcement was also shared with the public on the district's Twitter page. It details how the process works and how much the special election would cost the district.
Some of the stated reasons for the recall petitions include:
- Ignored dissenting opinions before making decisions affecting staff, students.
- Disregarded students' physical and mental health by mandating masks indefinitely.
- Endangered student health by not acknowledging legitimate medical exemptions.
- Aggressively promoted unlicensed Emergency Use Authorization COVID vaccines for students.
- Left parents out of in-person school board meetings.
> Watch video above: Families protest potential for mask mandates for students in Boulder County
BVSD explained they are mandated by the Boulder County Public Health department to require masks indoors.
In a statement on the recall webpage, the district said in part, "The Boulder Valley School District has worked closely with its partners in public health – recognized and respected health experts – to take actions that protected the health of students and prevented the spread of COVID-19. This allowed us to have students return to in-person learning and stay in-person, despite a high number of cases in the community at large. We recognize the importance of in-person learning to our students’ academic and social-emotional success."
Sweeney-Miran posted a response on her Twitter page after learning of the filed recall petitions:
All three of the BVSD board members facing recall petitions commented on the filings in a joint statement that reads, "I reject this recall effort as a potential threat to public health, a distraction for our community, and a waste of Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) monetary resources of at least $750,000.
In-person learning has been our top priority during this pandemic. Our board has been working hard to ensure that our students continue receiving a top-notch education, that we minimize the number of school and class closures, and that we maintain high standards of safety and health."
According to the district's webpage, the petitioners must resubmit petitions with the responses from the board members and collect 15,000 signatures within 60 days. Those signatures must be verified by the Boulder County Clerk.
If the recall petitions are verified and the recall election moves forward it, would not be held at the same time as November's general election.
BVSD has three board of education seats on the Nov. 2 ballot for members of districts B, E and F.
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