(CENTREVILLE) – The recall of a member of the Constantine School Board can move forward.

That was the determination of the St. Joseph County Election Commission, following a clarity/factuality hearing Monday afternoon. The Commission, which is made up of Probate Court Judge David C. Tomlinson, County Clerk Lindsay Oswald and County Treasurer Judith Ratering, heard comments from several people, including Marge Caid, who filed the petition, and Syntia Salisbury, who is the subject of the recall.

On the recall petition, Caid says Salisbury violated a School Board policy of Board member ethics, which states that a school board member will avoid being placed in a position of conflict of interest and refrain from using their Board positions for personal partisan gain.

Following the comments, Tomlinson shared with the audience the role of the Election Commission in the hearing. ...... {LISTEN}.

Tomlinson goes on to say the Commission can not investigate the petition in depth. ...... {LISTEN}.

By a 3-0 vote, the Election Commission determined the reasons for recall stated in the petition are factual in nature and are of sufficient clarity.

Tomlinson says Salisbury has ten days to file an appeal with St. Joseph County Circuit Court. Salisbury says she will discuss the matter before making a decision on what she will do. If she files an appeal, the Circuit Court has 40 days to bring the matter to a hearing.

County Clerk Lindsay Oswald says if Caid wishes to move forward with the recall effort, she needs to collect 690 signatures by the end of 2019 and submit them to the Clerk's Office. Depending on the appeal process, a possible recall election could be held in May of 2020.