Go-ahead given for Marysville recall drive

By J.J. Jensen
Times Snohomish County bureau

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EVERETT — A Snohomish County Superior Court judge yesterday found sufficient legal and factual grounds to support a recall election of Marysville School Board members Helen Mount and Ronald Young.

Mount and Young are the two remaining board members who served during the state-record, 49-day teachers strike last fall; voters ousted the other three incumbents in the Nov. 4 election.

Judge George Bowden based his ruling on the School Board's decision last year to hold classes Feb. 14, a day marked as a nonschool day in teachers' contracts. Feb. 14 was scheduled as a makeup day after school was canceled Jan. 14 to allow teachers to participate in a rally in Olympia.

The decision to hold classes Feb. 14 resulted in a district tab of more than $74,000 for substitute teachers, legal fees and other costs.

Holding classes on a nonschool day was among a list of 10 complaints included in recall petitions filed against the two board members last month by Douglas Wartelle, an Everett lawyer representing Marysville residents Shannon Bartlett, Lisa Ann Griffith and Deborah Vincelette.

"This charge does set forth sufficient basis to warrant a recall petition," Bowden said. "It may not be an illegal act, but it may be viewed by voters as an improper act."

It was up to Bowden to determine whether there was evidence of misfeasance, malfeasance or a violation of the oath of office in any of the allegations; he did not have to determine whether the charges were true.

The judge's decision does not make removing Mount and Young from the board a slam dunk.

Each has 15 days to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. If neither appeals, recall supporters will have 180 days to collect petition signatures. They'd need to get the equivalent of 35 percent of the total votes cast in each race when Mount and Young were elected in 2001, or about 8,000 signatures total.

The recall measures for the two could appear on the ballot this fall at the earliest. The Marysville School District would be billed for its share of election expenses. Depending on how many items are on the ballot, the bill could range from $15,000 to $100,000.

Mount was surprised by the ruling because, she said, the board made the Feb. 14 decision on advice from the district's legal counsel. In the coming days and weeks, she said, she will consider filing an appeal or even stepping down.

"Really, what the judge has done is to put all School Board members on notice that any decision you make, if it's against any group within your community, could rise to recall," she said.

Young could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In choosing to open schools Feb. 14, the petitioners alleged, the School Board "caused the district to incur significant unnecessary costs in the form of hiring 'entertainers' (such as puppeteers and jugglers), hiring substitutes, legal fees, and further provided pupils with inferior ... instruction."

Many teachers and students stayed home that day, and teachers who did were docked their pay. Teachers instead showed up June 16, a contract-designated makeup date. In September, a state arbitrator ruled that the School Board had violated the teachers' contract and that the district needed to repay teachers nearly $200,000.

The three petitioners quietly celebrated the decision and said they hope this process sends a message to the community.

"Come election time, from this day forward, you need to get involved and make sure you know who you vote for will have the best interests of the school district and community," Griffith said.

In the past 25 years, Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger said, there's been one successful recall in the county. No school-board member has been recalled in the county.

J.J. Jensen: 425-745-7809 or jjensen@seattletimes.com

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