Forestville parents say they have enough signatures to put 2 west county school board members up for recall

Opponents of the West Sonoma County Union High School district’s consolidation of El Molino and Analy high schools say they have more signatures than they need to force a recall election against two board members.

The group’s announcement came at the district’s first in-person school board meeting in more than a year Wednesday.

Heather Dale Best, a member of the recall effort, said the group had collected 9,200 signatures from registered voters in west county ahead of its Saturday deadline. If 7,187 of those signatures are certified by the Sonoma County Registrar’s Office in the next 30 days, Board President Kellie Noe and Vice President Jeanne Fernandes will face a recall vote early next year.

“Please … save your district $100,000 in special election costs and step down now,” Dale Best said. “Our numbers are here, and they speak volumes to how the west county community — your constituents that you’re failing to properly represent — have unified to remove you from your roles.”

During the meeting some parents repeatedly urged Noe and Fernandes to resign.

At issue is their March vote to consolidate El Molino and Analy high schools onto the Analy campus, which now bears the temporary name of West County High School.

Noe and Fernandes did not respond to the comments during the meeting, but both have said in interviews that they do not intend to resign. Both women come up for reelection in November 2022, and both have stated they do not plan to try to keep their seats.

Discussion devolved at times into shouts between parents and a board member.

The strongest confrontation unfolded in the middle of the meeting as a group of Forestville parents who had spoken during public comment were leaving.

Fernandes asked Superintendent Toni Beal to pause until the group had left the auditorium, calling them “rude” for talking among themselves during the meeting and making noise while they left.

“Wow. We’re trying to leave, how dare you?” asked Ame Nultemeier, one of the parents in the group. Others yelled at Fernandes, calling her “disgusting” and “unprofessional” before walking out. She told them repeatedly to leave the public meeting.

A security guard spoke with the parents, but did not escort any of them from the hall. The board continued in open session.

Comments from the public touched on issues related to busing, fights between students, long lunch lines and crowded classrooms, even as school district officials described a thriving campus and happy students in their first two weeks of the academic year.

“There are all these new things coming our way to us and our students,” said Lily Smedshammer, president of the West Sonoma County Teachers Association. “And I feel like my honest reaction to you is it's going pretty well on the ground. And I understand there’s laughter when I say that, but it hurts me that there’s laughter when I say that.”

Jolene Johnson, a former dance teacher at El Molino High School, said she had heard from students who had missed out on lunch for days because of long lines. Teachers are sharing classrooms. Library, registrar and attendance office staff are consistently working long hours to manage all that needs to be done, she said.

“You have not been here to see how your actions and decisions have affected this community,” she said to the board.

Board members did not respond to the public comments. Trustee Angie Lewis thanked staff for their work.

“I just wanted to commend everyone in the district for all their hard work,” she said. “This hasn’t been easy for anyone and I just appreciate the effort and humility of the entire west county staff.”

The board also voted to fill the vacant seat left by former trustee Laurie Fadave, who resigned on July 27. The seat will be filled by appointment rather than a special election. The district will seek applications and the board will conduct interviews and appoint a new member in the coming month.

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.