ALAMEDA COUNTY — A majority of voters support the recall of two Sunol Glen Unified School District board members, according to early results of a special election spurred by a controversial flag ban last year.
The fates of board president Ryan Jergensen and trustee Linda Hurley’s tenure with the district are in voters’ hands, following the duo’s push last fall to only allow Sunol Glen School to display “flags required by law” — the state of California and U.S. flag.
Although the resolution does not specifically mention Pride flags, the rule change came about three months after the flag was flown on school property and immediately sparked intense backlash across the tiny, one-school district set in a bucolic valley south of Pleasanton in rural Alameda County. The ban passed in a 2-1 vote last September, following a rowdy meeting that quickly descended into chaos, with the entire audience being thrown out. The board’s third member, Ted Romo, vigorously dissented.
A recall campaign quickly gained momentum, as the small elementary school located in a town of roughly 900 residents turned into a political battlefield between parents and administrators — a notable shift away from the recent spike in conservative policies that have gained traction in school board meetings and elections across the country.
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More than half of the 473 ballots counted late Tuesday were in favor of recalling both Jergensen and Hurley, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Election officials do not expect to confirm final results until after the Fourth of July weekend. It is unclear how many more ballots are left to count, but the registrar reported Tuesday that there are 828 registered voters living inside the Sunol school district’s boundaries.
Opponents of the flag ban argue that the policy promotes censorship and bigotry, in addition to accusations that Jergensen and Hurley betrayed the public’s trust by approving the rule after Alameda County sheriff’s deputies helped clear more than 100 people out of a packed cafeteria where the meeting was held.
Several parents have since said that a recall election was their only recourse after the board majority failed to reach a compromise. The ban was passed less than three months …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
