High court rules petition for Marysville recall may go forward

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County Bureau

Ron Young

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A recall petition against two Marysville School Board members who took a tough stance against teachers participating in a state labor rally last year may go forward, the State Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

School Board members Ron Young and Helen Mount had asked the court to strike down a January Snohomish County Superior Court decision that found there were sufficient legal and factual grounds to proceed with a recall.

Following yesterday's ruling, Lisa Griffith, one of the parents who initially organized the recall petition, called on Mount and Young to voluntarily step down from the board.

"As long as those two members remain, the whole community cannot go forward," she said, adding that the board's action prolonged the district's record-breaking 49-day teachers strike last year and cost the district an estimated $1.5 million.

But she said the parents' group has not decided whether to proceed with a recall-signature drive. The group would need to gather the signatures of about 8,000 registered voters in order to get the recall petition on the ballot.

	Helen Mounts

Mount and Young, who each have one year remaining in their terms, said yesterday they would not step down.

"The [new] board is working well together. I'm hoping we'll put this behind the district and move forward for the betterment of students in Marysville," Mount said.

The Supreme Court agreed yesterday with the lower court that the school board's decision to hold school on a paid holiday to make up for the day teachers participated in a statewide rally in Olympia violated the teachers' contract.

Most teachers in the district did not report for work on the make-up day. The district docked their salaries and spent an additional $74,500 for substitute teachers and legal fees. An arbitrator later ruled against the district and restored the teachers' pay.

The incident was one of 10 charges the parents' group originally included in the recall petition filed in the wake of the strike. The Snohomish County Superior Court judge dismissed all of the counts except the one involving the teachers' rally.

In the aftermath of the strike, three school-board members were voted out of office and the recall action was started against the remaining two, Young and Mount.

In ruling that a recall petition could go forward, the Supreme Court said that if an elective public officer "knowingly and willingly breaks a collective bargaining agreement and thereby causes unnecessary financial harm, this may be considered an improper act and a violation of oath."

The two school-board members argued that they were following the advice of the school-district attorney.

A special election could cost the district about $30,000, according to the county elections office, and it could further divide the community at the same time the district is considering placing a school-construction bond measure before voters.

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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