Online Petition to Remove Johnston School Board Member Circulates, Collects More Than 200 Signatures

An online petition to remove Johnston school board of member John Dutcher has garnered more than 200 signatures in the school district.

While there is by recall petition or election, the petition has accumulated 214 signatures since its start on Friday.

Dutcher said the petition is a retalitory measure and to be expected in the community.

"It's not actionable," he said. "I'm going to take it at what it's worth, a bunch of people that are nervous and distracting attention from the outcome of what this is -- persons charged with election violations and breaking state law."

Dutcher has been a controversial figure in the Johnston district at times, recently asking if a . Last month, Dutcher  accusing board members, administrators and district employees of misconduct in the September 2011 board election.

The petition started by resident Jeff Smaha asks district residents to sign if they feel Dutcher has violated Johnston school board's Code of Ethics No. 202.1.

The petition alleges Dutcher has violated the following points in the code that require members to:

• Accept office as a board member as a means of unselfish service.
• Take official actions only in public sessions.
• Recognize that the strength of the school board is as a board, not as individuals.
• Delegate authority to the chief school administrator as the board executive and confine board action to policy making, planning, and appraisal.
• Preserve the obligation of having controversial issues presented fairly and without bias.

Those who have signed the petition have cited Duther's biased opinions, negativity and said that he's distracting from important district issues.

"Johnston is an amazing place to raise our children. We are blessed with amazing teachers, administrators and staff. These are people that care about each and every child. When we look at our board we should expect the same thing. Over the last three years Mr. Dutcher has taken some of our greatest achievements (i.e. Sarah Brown Wessling’s National Teacher of the Year) and tried to turn them into something bad. He has created a hostile work environment within our school district. It is time for Mr. Dutcher’s negative energy to be removed before he does any more damage than he has already." -Maryjane McGovern

"I believe that disagreement and discussion are good and healthy for any group, but 'stirring the pot' over and over to simply cause discord does not benefit our student community." - Valerie Nichols

In 2010, Dutcher spurred a after he questioned policies and procedures on how the district runs its board meetings and signs contracts, among other matters.