I urge all voters to Vote no to recall Juneau school board members Deedie Sorensen and Emil Mackey.
Recall should be utilized only when merited by “misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties.”
The recall petitioners allege the school board members failed to understand the FY 2024 budget accounting errors (which runs from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024) resulting in a deficit and need for a taxpayer loan from CBJ. They are wrong on both accounts.
First, the school board unanimously adopted the FY 2024 budget on March 14, 2023. The deficit arose after the budget was adopted due to lower-than-expected student enrollment and, according to a November 2023 outside audit, when the “school district administration violated city and school district policies by spending more money than the board had budgeted without getting approval from the board and city first” (KTOO article). Neither of these are due to a failure to understand the FY 2024 budget.
Second, due to the leadership of Ms. Sorensen, Mr. Mackey and others, tough decisions were made to resolve the deficit and to avoid having to use the loan from CBJ. Among these was the decision to consolidate our schools, a decision mandated by continuing decreasing student enrollment projections and by the goal of having lower student/teacher ratios in our classrooms.
While some may disagree with these necessary tough decisions, using recall provisions against our elected public servants to voice their disagreement is wrong.
Chip Wagoner
Juneau
