An effort is underway to recall several members of the Cupertino Unified School District board over their unwillingness to open schools.
The Recall CUSD Board effort is led by a group of local parents and is targeting CUSD board members Lori Cunningham, Sylvia Leong, and Phyllis Vogel, who the group states will not reopen CUSD schools.
The group’s website asserts that Cunningham, Leong and Vogel “have repeatedly failed their civic duty in representing the parents of CUSD. Like many of our neighboring districts, CUSD parents want in-person instruction to resume: 44% of CUSD parents would prefer in-person instruction. Despite all that, Lori, Sylvia and Phyllis continue to stymie and block the progress of school reopening.”
The group claims that the named board members have failed to prioritize students over the interests of the teachers’ unions, which comprise a substantial part of Cunningham’s and Vogel’s donor base, according to the website.
Recall CUSD Board organizers have already filed a letter of intent to recall Lori Cunningham with the Office of the Santa Clara County Elections Official. They plan to file additional intent letters to recall board members Sylvia Leong and Phyllis Vogel as soon as they become eligible to be recalled. Both will become eligible for recall on March 17, 2021, 90 days after each assumed their current terms of office.
On Tuesday, the group held a socially distanced rally for the reopening of Sunnyvale and Cupertino schools at Fremont High School.
The Cupertino Unified School District operates 20 elementary schools and six middle schools and covers the city of Cupertino, as well as parts of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Santa Clara, and Los Altos.