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PUSD recall attempt under way

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Supporters of a fledgling campaign to recall Poway Unified school board member Andy Patapow plan to begin collecting signatures on their petitions on Monday.

Keith Wilson, head of the effort, this week expressed confidence that his volunteers will be able to secure the required 10,767 valid signatures of district voters by the county-set deadline of April 26 of next year.

“We’re going to give it a good effort,” said Wilson.

Recall committee members include several outspoken district critics who contend that Patapow should be removed from an office he has held for 20 years because he voted to finance school campus costs with capital appreciation bonds, because he has never “adequately” explained his votes, because he allegedly received gifts from the bond underwriters who sold the bonds and because he never fired anyone associated with the CABs.

Patapow denies any wrongdoing. The recall petition includes his response to the allegations. In it he writes that “I vote consistent with my conscience, my commitment to the students of this District, and my responsibility to taxpayers. Later he adds “Please do not support this recall. With less than one year remaining on my final term, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars and distracts from serving our kids.”

Wilson said volunteers will collect signatures from shoppers at retail centers throughout the district, which includes Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, 4S Ranch, Torrey Highlands and Sabre Springs. Roadside signs will be posted near the sign-up locations and will be rotated as the volunteers move around the district, he said.

When word of the recall attempt first surfaced more than a month ago, Patapow said he felt he was being targeting because he, along with two other board members, support Supt. John Collins. The recallers, Patapow said, plan to replace him with an anti-Collins board members, securing enough votes to have the superintendent fired.

“Right now we’re 3-2 in favor of kids,” the 80-year-old Poway resident and former Abraxas High School principal said.

The number of required petition signatures represents 10 percent of the number of registered voters in the district. If the signature goal is met and the signatures are verified by the county Registrar of Voters Office, an election would be held between 88 and 125 days following verification. Potential replacement candidates would be placed on the ballot as well. Voters would be asked whether a) Patapow should be recalled and, b) if so, which replacement candidate should be elected.

The capital appreciation bonds were authorized by PUSD voters in February 2008. School board members voted in October 2010 to begin the bond sale preparation efforts and again in May 2011 to proceed with their sale. Patapow is the only holdover from those boards.

The bonds were sold at interest rates of around 7 percent. Since interest was deferred and no payments were to be made for 20 years, the bonds will cost taxpayers about $1 billion when paid off. That’s a ratio of about 9:1.

Details of the bonds’ cost to taxpayers were revealed in 2013 and generated strong criticism from the San Diego County Grand Jury and the San Diego Taxpayers Association. State legislation was later passed, putting restrictions on the future use of CABs, including limiting them to 25 years and capping the ratio at 4:1.

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