MARIETTA - There will be no recall election for Cobb school board member Dr. John Crooks. The effort to boot him from office ended Monday without the necessary signatures to move forward.

Carrie Nicholas-Welkis, who chaired the recall campaign, declined to reveal how many signatures she obtained out of the 13,856 needed to put the item on a ballot.

"And as per the advice of counsel, the campaign has chosen to not submit the petitions to the Board of Elections," she said. "This was done in an effort to protect the petitioners' privacy and to bring closure to the recall campaign."

Crooks said he is "thankful the recall process is over."

"This isn't a victory for me so much as it is a lesson in how paramount a fair and open process is in earning the public's trust, even in matters that may divide our community," he said. A March 9 Superior Court ruling issued by Judge Walter Matthews of Rome found that Nicholas-Welkis could move forward with the recall of Crooks. That left her with the hefty task of obtaining nearly 14,000 signatures in 45 days to conduct a recall election.

In July, Crooks called for a vote to allow a 150-foot cell tower to be built at Eastvalley Elementary School, a proposal many parents and residents opposed as an unsafe eyesore. Crooks placed the cell tower matter on the board's agenda the day of the July meeting without advance notice. Several families then filed suit against the school district, arguing that the board violated state Open Meetings Act by failing to give proper advance notice on the vote. The move also prompted the recall effort.

Cobb Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the board, halting any work from being done on the tower, but then Crooks called for second vote on the tower in October. This time it was advertised on the agenda in advance, and the board approved the tower a second time.

Nicholas-Welkis said while members of her recall campaign didn't secure the needed signatures, they were still pleased with the outcome. She said they were successful in defending the legal grounds of the recall on the basis of "intent to deceive the public."

And, "We ensured Dr. Crooks will not seek re-election, and we proved as an electorate that we will not tolerate anything less than open and honest governance," she said.

However, Crooks said he had always intended to only run for one term. Additionally, he found it important to have children in the district when serving as a board member, he said, and with his daughter graduating next year, that was another factor in deciding not seek another term.

Nicholas-Welkis said she now turns her focus to managing the campaign of her husband, chiropractor Rick Welkis, who is running for the Post 6 seat held by Crooks in the Democratic primary this July.

In November's General Election, Welkis will face the winner of the Post 6 Republican primary, which will either be retired Dodgen Middle School principal Jim Snell or technology consultant Scott Sweeney, father of a Sope Creek Elementary School child.

As for the cell tower vote, Crooks said, "I continue to believe that the approval and installation of a cell tower at Eastvalley Elementary was in the best interests of the school because of the extra money it will provide during these difficult budgetary times."

MDJ News Editor Brandon Wilson contributed to this report.