An effort to remove five Oakland Unified School District board directors has been whittled down to just one elected official facing recall.

The Oakland City Clerk's Office and the organization leading the recall effort, Concerned Parents and Community Coalition, confirmed late last week that Board President Jody London and Director Jumoke Hinton Hodge were dropped from recall efforts because they are up for re-election this year. There also weren't enough valid signatures for the recall intention petition for directors David Kakishiba and Chris Dobbins. Only one OUSD director, Gary Yee, is currently facing a recall drive.

Concerned Parents and Community Coalition launched its recall campaign after the school district board members voted in late October to close five elementary schools. District officials have said that more schools are expected to close over the next few years.

The school closings process sparked an outcry of anger from many community members, parents and teachers. Etha Jones of Concerned Parents said many Oakland parents are fed up with both the district and the OUSD board.

"Parents are very concerned right now," Jones said. "The community was not brought into the loop regarding the school closings, until late summer, very late in the process."

Jones said that the organization recently found out that state code bars an elected official from being recalled in the last year of their term. As a result, petitions were dropped against London and Hodge.

"We'll fight them at the ballot box," she said, adding that the organization has not formally decided if it will submit new recall petitions for Dobbins and Kakishiba.

"They're still in our target," she said. "But, we may just concentrate our energy on Director Yee, for now."

Joel Velasquez, who also works with the grass roots education group, said that while the school closings were a catalyst for the recall, they aren't the only reason community members are upset with board directors.

"There is a disconnect between the board and the community," he said. "They're not engaging the parents and that's a problem."

Velasquez said his group is currently at the beginning stage of organizing itself.

"The recall is still happening, but we still need to get together as a group and have some discussions," he said.

The successful recall of an elected official in Oakland is rare, said Alameda County Registrar of Voters Dave Macdonald.

"Recalls are very rare, although there is talk of recalls all the time," he said. "People start the process, but it's hard work. There are a lot of laws you have to comply with."

According to OUSD spokesman Troy Smith, no board director has been recalled from office in recent memory. In order to successfully recall Yee, organizers will have to get about 20 percent of the voters in his district to sign the petition.

The closing of the elementary schools is but one part of a large restructuring effort currently underway at the school district. The five elementary sites - Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe - will close at the end of this school year.