Proposed bill would allow removal of school board members

DOVER — When a member of the Colonial School District Board of Education was arrested late last month for allegedly sexually abusing several minors, many Delawareans called for him to be removed from the board.

The only problem with that? As the school district noted in a release after the arrest, there’s no way to kick the accused, Ronnie Williams, off the board: Other than following a felony conviction or at the request of the governor and with the consent of a supermajority of the General Assembly, most elected officials can only be removed by voters.

Rep. Paul Baumbach hopes to change that.

Although the legislature is on break until January, the Newark Democrat announced Monday he plans to file legislation in the upcoming months to create steps to oust school board members.

“State legislators, judges and even the governor can be removed from office through an established process,” he said in a statement. “In the General Assembly, we have an ethics process that allows the chamber to censure or discipline members, in addition to removing them from office. These are not processes that should be taken lightly, but they exist as a way to ensure that someone who violates the public trust is held accountable.”

Read more: https://delawarestatenews.net/government/proposed-bill-would-create-steps-to-oust-school-board-members/