WESTMINSTER — Bitterness in the Adams County 50 School District over how best to spend a $96.8 million bond issue is prompting a recall attempt of two school board members and the involvement of the district attorney.
Petitions asking for an election to recall Adams 50 board president Vicky Marshall and board treasurer Kevin Massey began circulating May 23. Proponents need to collect at least 2,507 valid signatures by late August.
If enough signatures are validated by the county clerk, the recall question will go before voters.
“In the first week, we’ve already gathered close to 400 signatures,” said recall supporter Dino Valente. “This is not a hard sell for a lot of people.”
Valente is a member of Restore Our Schools, a group of parents and residents upset over plans to use at least $90 million of the bond proceeds to refurbish Westminster High School, including $2 million for administrative offices.
The group claims that, prior to the 2006 bond election, they were promised that the entire amount would be used to upgrade existing elementary schools and construct a new high school. But in February, the school board decided to use virtually all the money to pay for revamping Westminster High.
That will leave nothing for other schools in the district, Valente said. “That’s when the wheels came off the district for a lot of people,” he said.
The lone school board member who questioned the use of the bond proceeds, Marilyn Flachman, has been unfairly attacked by the rest of the board and their supporters, Valente said.
The latest broadside came when a drawing surfaced of Flachman being portrayed as a Chicken Little character trying to shield herself with a book titled “Flachman’s Book of Disinformation.” The drawing was mailed to several hundred people in the district.
The Adams County district attorney is reviewing whether the drawing is protected speech under the First Amendment, said spokesman Michael Goodbee. He said a decision to launch a full investigation should be made by the end of the week.
Treasurer Massey is being targeted because he has failed to properly oversee the fiscal management of the bond, Valente said. Massey couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
Marshall said recall supporters had ample time to voice concerns over how the bond was being used when she and Massey ran for re-election last year. “All these issues were on the table last year, but they didn’t attract the degree of anger and emotion that they have since February,” Marshall said.
She also said many pushing for a recall had a chance to work on a committee that laid out the details of how the bond proceeds were to be spent, but opted out for a variety of reasons.
“Some people were personally invited to serve on the (bond) board, but they decided they didn’t have the time to do it,” Marshall said. “And now they are second-guessing the recommendations. And that’s frustrating.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
