An effort to recall Aaron Proctor from his position as the Zone 3 representative of the Whitepine School District board of trustees in Idaho is on the ballot on November 3, 2020.
The effort began after the board voted 3-1 on August 11, 2020, to require face coverings in classrooms and on buses whenever social distancing is not feasible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proctor was one of the three members who voted in favor of the requirement. A survey sent to parents in the Whitepine School District showed approximately 62% of parents were against the district requiring face coverings when social distancing is not feasible, and 67% of parents were against requiring face coverings at all times.
Recall supporters said Proctor had failed to represent the desires expressed by district parents, put his personal feelings ahead of the wishes of his constituents, conducted himself unprofessionally on social media, and compromised the quality of education for district students.
In response to the recall effort, Proctor said, “Trustees have a responsibility to provide safe and healthy learning environment for our students. It’s unfortunate minimizing the chances of a student or staff member catching and possibly dying from COVID-19 is controversial, but it is undoubtedly the right thing to do.”
Proctor has served on the board for 16 years. The recall effort was approved for the November 3 ballot after 59 petition signatures from registered voters in Zone 3 were verified.
Three other school board recall efforts are currently underway in Idaho. Recall petitions are circulating in the Idaho Falls, Pocatello-Chubbuck, and West Ada school districts. All three of them were started in response to the school districts’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, Ballotpedia covered a total of 151 recall efforts against 230 elected officials. Of the 66 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot, 34 were recalled for a rate of 52%. That was lower than the 63% rate and 57% rate for 2018 and 2017 recalls, respectively.
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