Trustee Alexander Bronson?

Resigned.

Trustee Ashley Drain?

Resigned.

Trustee Sam Fant?

He’s still going to be the focus of a recall effort to remove him from his position on the Manteca Unified Board of Education.

While it was believed that the push to remove Fant – who was the focal point of a damning San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury report – would die down after Drain resigned last month, former Manteca Unified School Board Trustee and former Stockton Councilman Dale Fritchen, who has assumed the unofficial spokesmen duties for the group, told the board that they will proceed with whatever step is necessary to unseat Fant.

That might not necessarily be as easy as most people think, according to local teacher and activist Leo Bennett-Cauchon.

As a member of Drain’s inner circle, Bennett-Cauchon said that he had urged her to resign for the sake of the same children that she pushed to be elected to represent – the final piece of a twisted puzzle that has left the board fractured and threatend morale among administrators and teachers.

He even did his own field research, and Bennett-Cauchon said that because of the nature of the election – if there were to be one – a large portion of the signatures already gathered would have to be collected again in order to keep in line with the confusing by-district versus at-large election.

But the move to try and unseat Fant might purely be ceremonial.

There wouldn’t be very much time left on any term that would be vacated if one were to be successful – but it would be damaging towards his future political aspirations of making a run at the Stockton City Council where friend Anthony Silva is the mayor.

Fant was largely silent after Fritchen’s comments to the board.

“The committee is not ready to slow down and wants to remain active in its goal,” Fritchen said. “This is something that needs to proceed even if it is only to write the wrongs of the past.

“Hopefully this gets resolved in an amicable way but that’s not completely up to us.”



To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.