Let Voices Be Heard

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Letter to Editor
St. Helena Star

Editor: The special recall election ballots have been mailed to all St. Helena Unified School District registered voters and I sincerely hope that everyone in our community will vote in this important election. Only with the direction of our community can our district move forward.

As you consider how to vote, I would like to clarify one thing on the cost of this recall election.

Our registrar of voters, John Tuteur, has indicated that the cost of this special recall election will be between $30,000 and $35,000, and no more. The cost of any prior or subsequent elections cannot be attributed to the recall. They were, or are, required for completely separate reasons.

Yes, this is a lot of money, however when this cost is compared to some of the costs from the past school year it comes into perspective.

For instance, it is only one-tenth of the amount of money our district spent on attorneys fees in the past school year and one-tenth of the amount of money our district awarded to two retiring administrators that had worked for our district for only five years and were already going to receive state retirement benefits.

It is also important to realize that the district will have to pay this cost even if you vote “no” on the recall. When over 2,000 residents signed recall petitions this summer mandating a special recall election, they told the district that they thought this cost was a necessary expense to ensure that the voice of the community was heard.

Todd DeVincenzi

St. Helena