Moorpark Residents to Try Again : School Recall Bid Falls Short

Proponents of a drive to recall four Moorpark school board members failed to collect enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, but said Tuesday that they will try again.

“We fell short by so little that I’m sure we can make it next time,” said Pam Castro, a leader of the recall drive. “We’ll be serving new recall notices later this week.”

‘Rough Count’

The group needed to collect 2,423 signatures on each petition to recall board President Lynda Kira, Vice President Carla Robertson, Patty Waters and Tom Baldwin.

Board member Cynthia Hubbard-Dow is not the target of a recall campaign.

Jenny Harrison, a Ventura County election technician, said the four petitions ranged from 41 to 63 signatures short of the necessary number. She said the county clerk’s office only did a “rough count” of the signatures and did not verify their validity.

“I’m surprised they got as many signatures as they did because the quality of education in the district is so high,” said Rick Tate, a member of the Friends of the Moorpark School Board, a parents’ group formed to oppose the recall effort.

“I’m not happy to hear they are starting up again because I had hoped we could put all this behind us,” he said. Castro said the recall effort will resume because of the board’s arrogance.

She cited the 1986 demotion of Mary Quirk, a popular high school principal, as one of the reasons for the recall drive.

The recall campaign began about four months ago after the school district proposed selling 69-year-old Moorpark Memorial High School to developers. However, the board has been working with a citizens advisory committee and now plans to lease the school.

2,100 Signatures Needed

Recall proponents have 120 days after the necessary paper work is filed to collect 2,100 signatures for each of the board members, Harrison said. Fewer signatures are necessary than in the spring because there are now more than 10,000 voters registered in the school district, she said. Signatures of 20% of the electorate, rather than 25%, are necessary when there are more than 10,000 voters.