Signature-gathering begins to recall two Gateway school board trustees

Residents living in the Gateway Unified School District have begun gathering signatures to recall two members of the school board.

A group called the Save Gateway Committee began gathering signatures on Monday to recall Elias and Lindsi Haynes, claiming the two school board members, who are husband and wife, have "demonstrated a profound lack of experience and competency in their roles as trustees," the committee said in a news release issued Monday.

Lindsi Haynes, now the board's vice president, was elected to the board in November 2022. Elias Haynes is clerk of the board. Both represent the district's Area 3, the Buckeye area of north Redding.

Shortly after they were sworn into office, the Hayneses and former Board President Cherrill Clifford voted to oust district Superintendent Jim Harrell, drawing backlash from the community that led to Clifford resigning in early February.

The recall committee accused the Hayneses of violating the state's open meeting law, called the Brown Act, and creating an unstable work environment for district employees.

Clifford resigned shortly after it was revealed in emails that Clifford had signed a contract in December to hire Bryan Caples of Redding to replace Harrell as superintendent of the district. At the time, Caples' administrative credential had been suspended by the California Teacher Credentialing Commission. He also ran unsuccessfully for Shasta County Superintendent of Schools in 2022.

The four remaining members of the school board deadlocked numerous times on appointing a replacement for Clifford. Because the trustees could not agree on a replacement, residents in the district's Area 2 will vote on replacing her in a November election.

In written response to the notices of intent to recall that they received, the Hayneses defended their actions as board members.

"The ability to perform my duties is based solely on opinions and not on facts," Elias Haynes wrote. "The voters wanted change so we obliged. New leadership is what we heard so we voted for change."

The notices of intent to recall Lindsi Haynes included "false allegations and personal attacks of my character," she wrote in a response.

"It didn't happen the way stated to obtain the requirements to submit the recall and the pure unfounded lies in exhibits submitted. The majority of voters were confident in my ability to perform the duties they elected me for," Lindsi Haynes wrote.

The group has 90 days to gather 2,025 signatures to qualify the recall for the November ballot. The signatures must come from 25% of registered voters who live in Area 2 in the district, which generally includes north Redding and the Buckeye area.

Residents of the Anderson Union High School District are also are also attempting to recall district board trustee Cindy Trotter-Hogue and board president President Joe Gibson.

But they have twice failed to get enough signatures to begin circulating petitions for Gibson and once failed to get enough signatures to circulate recall petitions for Trotter-Hogue, according to Joanna Francescut, assistant county clerk and registrar of voters.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!