Prosser group halts a school board recall effort before it can start. Here’s why

An effort to recall four members on the Prosser School Board has stalled before it even started.

The Prosser Recall2Restart group recently posted on Facebook that it plans instead to solicit advice from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office on possible state law violations and to contribute to candidates who challenge the Prosser board members.

Monica Flores-Niemeyer, a leading member of the recall group, told the Tri-City Herald they still have too many questions about the district’s decision making in the past couple years but are concerned about the financial impact a recall campaign would have.

“I know we’ve been quiet for some time, but we just want to get it right,” she said.

The issue came to a head after the Prosser School District eliminated its athletic director position over the summer as part of a plan to rectify a $1.6 million budget shortfall.

The firing of Kevin Lusk, a beloved 35-year employee, shook the community. And word of the district’s budget woes caught many off guard, especially after voters approved a levy to collect $7.67 million over the next two years.

But ever since the 2018 McCleary decision, Prosser has struggled with balancing its revenue and expenditures. In recent years, the district had to forgo hiring for positions left vacant.

Recall2Restart claims the school board’s and district’s decisions in recent years have run amok of state laws on public records and open meetings. The group also is upset over a raise the school board approved for Superintendent Matt Ellis more than a year ago, prior to their financial woes.

Recall costs

One of the major reasons Recall2Restart shifted its focus away from recall was because of the cost of putting such a measure to voters.

Calling a special election could cost the fiscally-strained school district upwards of $250,000, according to previous estimates from Benton County elections officials. The school district would be liable to cover part or most of the expense of the election if enough taxpayers signed petitions wanting to vote on the issue.

“Honestly, this felt like a huge setback for us and frustrated doesn’t even begin to describe how we felt,” the Facebook post read.

“We knew we had the support for the special election, but was it the right thing to do, was it the best use of our resources and the community support we had received?” said the post.

‘Want to clean house’

The group says it’s now pivoted toward filing a list of questions with the state Attorney General’s Office to see if their complaints against the school district and board are valid. Depending on what the office finds, Flores-Niemeyer said they might get a lawyer involved.

“While this isn’t what our group had initially planned, we have established infrastructure for long-term change. We now have a resource that can provide us answers on the legality of actions by Prosser School Board. This may help open the door to working with an attorney to handle (Open Public Meetings Act) complaints against specific school board members,” the group posted on Facebook.

In July, Recall2Restart introduced a list of 10 allegations of malfeasance and misfeasance on part of four of Prosser’s five school board members: President Andy Howe, Vice President Jason Rainier, Peggy Douglas and Jeanie Aubrey.

The charges weren’t specific, but outlined violations to local statutes, accusations of intimidation, and violations to the state’s Open Public Meetings Act.

They were ultimately never submitted to the Benton County Auditor’s Office, which would have triggered the procedures to recall a public official from office. And at least one board member has refuted the rough charges Recall2Restart has laid out.

“Sometimes, the right move can even be the frustrating move,” Flores-Niemeyer said. “We would really like to have a recall. I know most of the community would.”

Flores-Niemeyer said they plan to financially support candidates to run against Douglas, Howe and Aubrey in next year’s regular election. They’re looking for candidates who would support firing Ellis and the district’s assistant superintendents.

“A lot of them want to clean house,” Flores-Niemeyer said of community members.

The group has since started a political action committee, “Your Community - Your District.” It’s received no campaign contributions so far, according to state campaign filings.