Camden-Frontier school board recall challengers defeated
FRONTIER — Efforts to recall two Camden-Frontier school board members and save the Redskins mascot failed at the ballot box Tuesday, May 7.
Board of Education Trustees Emily Morrison and Jesse Crow were reaffirmed with 358 registered voters casting a ballot.
Morrison defeated challenger Sarah Wilcox, 202-156.
Ricky Hartman garnered 168 votes but was defeated by incumbent Crow who received 190 votes.
More: Recall effort underway for two Camden-Frontier school board members
Wilcox sought to recall Morrison and Crow in an effort to reverse the board of education's 2023 decision to rebrand the school by eliminating the long-serving Redskins mascot and seek an alternative, non-offensive mascot.
During her campaign to recall Morrison and Crow, Wilcox gathered 418 signatures in support of recalling Crow and 414 signatures against Morrison.
The Redskins mascot will officially retire at the end of June.
That board of education's decision caused an uproar amongst some alumni and residents of the school district who claim the school board has “jumped on the bandwagon of the woke mob.”
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An earlier attempt to recall Morrison and Crow failed when Wilcox failed to properly fill out the header on many of the signature sheets turned into the Hillsdale County Clerk’s Office in July 2023, invalidating a majority of the signatures collected in an effort to hold the recall election last November.
Camden-Frontier Schools Superintendent Chris Adams stated the school board’s 4-3 split decision to retire the Redskins mascot has been an unavoidable topic for years.
Camden-Frontier is one of the last districts in the state to retire the “Redskins” mascot.
— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Camden-Frontier Board of Education recall challengers defeated
