On Sept. 15, 1970, Santa Clarita Valley voters narrowly recalled two members of the William S. Hart Union High School District Board of Trustees following a contentious battle that centered, in part, on student protests against the Vietnam War.

Curtis Huntsinger and Edward Duarte were both recalled in a dramatic election that came down to the final precinct.

The recall movement had grown out of a dispute between the Hart board and Superintendent C.T. Haan over how the district should respond to anti-war demonstrations at Canyon High School.

One of the issues that helped spark the recall was the board’s reversal, led by Huntsinger, of Haan’s decision to allow Canyon students to hold a demonstration and circulate petitions opposing the Vietnam War in October 1969.

The dispute between the board and Haan continued to escalate, eventually leading to Haan’s removal from the district. Historical accounts describe the conflict as one of the major local stories of 1970.

By election night, Huntsinger and Duarte appeared to have survived the recall effort. They held a narrow lead of roughly 30 votes as precincts reported throughout the evening.

That changed when the final precinct, a large polling location at Sulphur Springs School representing voters in the Sand Canyon and Sierra Hills areas, was counted shortly before midnight. The precinct voted nearly 2-to-1 in favor of the recall, pushing both trustees to defeat.

With all 15 precincts reporting, Duarte was recalled by a vote of 2,472 to 2,320, while Huntsinger was recalled 2,450 to 2,323.

Voters also selected their replacements, choosing Thomas Hanson, a Newhall engineer, and Dr. Carroll Word, a Methodist minister from Saugus. Both candidates received the endorsement of the School Rescue Committee, the group that led the recall campaign.

The election was particularly notable for Huntsinger, who had been one of the strongest vote-getters in local school board elections. An Acton turkey rancher, Huntsinger had served nearly 10 years on the Hart board and had previously served on the Saugus Elementary School Board.

He had won his previous three elections with ease and, in 1969, received the largest vote total of any school candidate in local election history.

Duarte was in the third year of his first four-year term on the Hart board. He owned Thrifty Shopper, an independent grocery store on Soledad Canyon Road, and had previously served on the Newhall Elementary School Board.

The recall came amid broader disagreements over the future of the local school district. Three times during the 1960s in 1960, 1965 and 1967 the Hart School Board pursued plans to unify the Santa Clarita Valley into a single K-12 school district. Voters rejected each proposal.

A total of 4,792 voters participated in the recall election, representing about 25.7% of registered voters in the district.

Duarte’s recall passed with 51.5% of voters supporting his removal and 48.5% voting to retain him. Huntsinger’s recall passed with 51.3% voting for removal and 48.7% voting to keep him in office.

Hanson and Word were expected to take their seats following the official canvass, replacing the two longtime trustees and bringing an end to one of the most contentious school board battles in the SCV’s history.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click here.

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