Recall petition to begin circulating

By Alexis DeLaCruz

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

The DeVincentis e-mails

Past Event

Save Our Schools RE2 Committee

  • Thursday, May 10, 2007, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Olympian Hall, Howelsen Hill, Steamboat Springs
  • All ages / Free

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Steamboat Springs — A group calling itself "Save Our Schools RE-2" will begin circulating petitions to recall Steamboat Springs School Board member John DeVincentis after an informational meeting Thursday night.

Routt County Clerk Kay Weinland said she approved the 175-word petition after it was submitted last week, allowing the group to begin circulating the petition.

"We corrected some of the formatting, but we essentially approved the petition that was submitted to us," Weinland said Tuesday.

The committee, comprised of a group of former School Board members and city officials, is hosting an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Olympian Hall to discuss the future of the recall and to let people know how to get involved.

Former School Board president and S.O.S. RE-2 committee member Paula Stephenson said the petition's wording "reads exactly like the group submitted with no real significant changes."

Pat Gleason, a committee member and former School Board member, said he expects the meeting to last about an hour.

"I hope anyone with an interest in (the recall) shows up," he said.

S.O.S RE-2 aims to recall DeVincentis based on what its members say is his "pattern of conduct" throughout the years. That conduct includes sending a series of e-mails harshly critical of former school district Superintendent Cyndy Simms. DeVincentis sent the e-mails during his final year as Strawberry Park Elementary School principal in 2004 and 2005.

Gleason gained access to the e-mails during his tenure on the School Board and gave the e-mails to the Steamboat Pilot & Today. Gleason resigned from the board the day before the newspaper published a story about the e-mails.

DeVincentis has publicly apologized for the e-mails.

Former Parents for Dr. D chairman Jim Swiggart said S.O.S. RE-2 is waiting for Thursday's "kick-off" party to start soliciting the 1,933 valid signatures it would take to move the recall effort forward to a vote.

"We're hoping to get the people interested the information they'll need to be involved," Swiggart said. "There will be a petition available for people to sign after the meeting, and we'll also have petitions available for people who want to carry them."

The committee has raised about $4,000 for the recall effort, Swiggart said.

All petitions must be turned into the Clerk and Recorder's Office by July 2, at which point the Clerk's Office has 30 days to validate the signatures. DeVincentis then would have 15 days to protest any of the signatures, Weinland said.

"Right now we're taking the process step by step," she said.

DeVincentis, who has said he is no longer talking to the newspaper, did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

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Comments

Sunnydays 6 years ago

While Dr. Devincentis' shot himself in the foot, once again, and probably should be off the board I doubt our Schools need to be Saved. They certainly do not need to be saved by Paula Stephenson and Pat Gleason former members of the Paul Fisher board. This board knew everything , did nothing, and listened to no one...

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Magpie 6 years ago

I 100% agree with you, Sunnydays. And not only did the Paul Fisher led boards do little or nothing, they were quite mean and underhanded to people who didn't agree with them.

And, as I have said to past recall efforts - WHO IS GOING TO FILL THE POSITION? I think ANY recall effort is stronger if they can propose one or multiple candidates willing to take on the position. I rarely blindly believe in "the grass is always greener" and certainly not when it is presented by Paula and Pat.

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reallocal 6 years ago

Can you substatiate that with any real evidence or examples, Sunny or Mag?

This part of the democratic process is not about replacing DeVincentis. It is about whether you support the public's right to reconsider their election of DeVincentis in light of his past behavior. That is all. Naming a potential replacement would only serve to place this recall effort on the "personal agenda" side of politics, rather than allow the citizens of SSSD to participate in a fair and unbalanced democratic process.

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Magpie 6 years ago

I can substantiate from personal experience, but I probably should not have accused without offering examples and just stuck to agreeing that for me, Paula and Pat are not the right people to "save" our schools.

As for the democratic process, people are not elected in a vacuum. I didn't vote for the school board members without knowing who they were running against and I can't reconsider my vote without knowing who is available to fill the position. We vote for who we feel is the best candidate of those who are running, not for who, in general, we think should hold the position and for me, recall can only be considered in the same environment (of deciding if that office holder is less qualified than who could replace him/her).

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Sunnydays 6 years ago

How many board meetings did Paula Stephenson miss when Paul Fisher was board president?

Wasn't it Paul Fisher who coined the phrase "Even if the fund board grants us the money, we won't accept it."

We lost a nine year veteran superintendent and for all practical purposes a five+ year school of excellence principal under this board.

We almost had another charter school under this board and ended up with a program no one really wanted.

Etc...,etc...

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JQPUBLIC 6 years ago

If you get enough signatures and the recall actually goes to a vote, don't you then have to provide a candidate to replace him? If this is correct, signing the petition means you think his actions are unacceptable and when it comes to the actual recall if you think the replacement choice is worse than the one being recalled, vote not to recall. Assuming (and we all know about assuming) this is true, nobody is asking anyone to "blindly believe" anything, this is just a chance to correct a political mistake if in fact the majority feels they made one. Ahhh... democracy in action, you have to respect it even if you are a Dr. D fan.

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reallocal 6 years ago

You will have the option to revote for DeVincentis if you chose to do so. This petition just puts the question on the ballot. If you still think DeVincentis is the right candidate when you cast your vote, all you have to do is select the option indicating that you don't want to recall DeVincentis. At this point, your signature just gives voters that option.

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reallocal 6 years ago

That 5+year "excellent" Principle was the reason we lost the veteran superintendant with nine years experience, not the board. And if you were at the meeting DeVincentis refers to in his emails (the one where he demanded his pay-for-performance bonus) and saw the way he acted, I highly doubt you'd think of his retirement as a loss, sunny. I also believe that the board is well within their rights not to accept gifts from the fund board if the board feels they are unneccessary or inappropriate. If you felt so strongly about it then, why didn't you start a petition? That's the beauty of the thing, you can hold any elected official responsible for their actions.

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Sunnydays 6 years ago

I think the way it works is that if there are enough valid signatures on the petition, and the petition is not succesfully challenged, then the question of whether Dr. Devincentis should be recalled is placed on the ballot of the election called by the clerk, this could be the general election or a separate election. Within fifteen days after the election is called by the clerk, people who are running for this position have to put their name up for election with (I believe) the requisite number of signatures. The question of whether Devicentis should be recalled and the election for his replacement will take place simultaneously. If he is recalled, the person who wins the election replaces him, if he is not, then he remains in his position and the election is moot. He cannot place his name on the ballot for his replacement. At the time of the recall election, people will see who is running against him and Democracy will truly work.

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Magpie 6 years ago

Sunny - I have to address "and ended up with a program that no one really wanted." Have you bothered to look at how that program is doing? It has expanded and is oversubscribed (more families wanted into the program for this year and already the list is too long for next year than there is space to accommodate).

Funny that you and I are on completely opposite sides of that program and yet we both believe that the Paul Fisher led board did a bad job and don't believe in Paula and Pat.

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Magpie 6 years ago

JQ - Honestly, I don't know the recall process. I, personally, cannot make the decision to recall without knowing who is available to replace, just as I don't make my voting decisions in the first place without knowing what the options are. To sign the petition and then vote against the recall seems ridiculous and a waste of a lot of time and money. If the Save our Schools group is so hot on getting rid of Dr. D. then they should front a candidate (or candidates) now who are willing to serve so I can make my decision with full knowledge.

As for being a Dr. D. fan, what I feel is far more complex than that.

But I am consistent in my position on recall, just as I posted about the DA, who I know very little about and would certainly not be accused of being a fan of. Go back and look at my posts there where I said that I would be much more inclined to sign the recall if I knew who the candidates were to replace her.

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linus 6 years ago

I just hate to see the district have to go through more ugliness and disruption. This group has the right to do their recall of course but how much of it is about finishing out their own vendetta against Dr. D.? And how much is about Pat Gleason "winning" and trying to rehabilitate his reputation? Our schools do not need to be "saved" from Dr. D. That is just absurd. Those of you who think the e-mails show he is a monster are so far off-base. Have you never made a tasteless joke? This board had every opportunity to ask him to resign and they chose not to. We should give them a little credit to be able to figure it out themselves.

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dogd 6 years ago

I personally find the "gotcha thought police" perpetrating this recall to be more repugnant than anything they "stand" against. I will never be able to take any of these people seriously again, though in most cases, that was a bit of a challenge to begin with. An inventory of a community's judgemental midgets is needed from time to time. This petition will provide one.

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another_local 6 years ago

"And how much is about Pat Gleason "winning" and trying to rehabilitate his reputation?"

Rehabilitate? He is about the only one in this story whose reputation needs no help.

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beagle 6 years ago

in your opinion maybe, local

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Scott Wedel 6 years ago

I think Save our Schools is not the wisest of names because it overstates the case. The other school board members should be able to limit the damage to the schools that one angry lying school board member is able to commit. They should have just called themselves "Citizens to Recall School Board Member Devicentis" even if it doesn't have a cute acronym.

The petition presents more than ample justification for Dr D to be recalled. I think the petition should be signed and he should be recalled.

I think it is unfair to blame the previous school board for Cindy Simms leaving. The conflict between Dr D and Cindy Simms and the school board got difficult especially after the group formed to support Dr D. Cindy Simms was presented with and then took an opportunity to switch into a better situation at Mercer Island.

There has been no recent shortage of reasonable people to serve on the school board. If the recall is successful then I suspect the leading candidates will be those talking about healing and recovery rather than anyone leading the recall effort.

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steamboatsconscience 6 years ago

Yes, Like most of the self righteous in this town, "A Legend in their own Minds."

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oofcboy 6 years ago

Do you have something against midgets

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steamboatsconscience 6 years ago

Only Mental Midgets! And this town has its share of them.

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Sunnydays 6 years ago

The mishandling of the issue that led to the issue between Devincentis and Simms is the result of the poor leadership of Paul Fisher. It involved a request for a teacher so class sizes in a particular class would be equal to the class sizes in all the other classes at Strawberry Park. One year, Dan Birch was board president, a request for this class was made, Dan approved it. The following year, same issue, the exact same request was made Paul Fisher did not approve it. Angry parent says things at board meeting, struggle ensues, teacher awarded to reduce class size, Devicentis dinged for "not controlling his parents." Cyndy Simms words. Had Paul Fisher not spewed his crap, the issue between Cyndy and John would never had occurred. It was not John who went after Cyndy to start this, it was quite the opposite.

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