OCEANSIDE -- The effort to recall two MiraCosta College trustees is dead, recall proponents announced late Thursday.

Representatives of the group, Restore MiraCosta, said they dropped the move to oust governing board President Charles Adams and Trustee Greg Post to give the college a chance to heal. The college has been wracked by two years of acrimony, inspired by a wide-ranging investigation into the illegal sales of palm trees from the campus horticulture department.

Recall opponents welcomed the news Thursday.

"I think that's very wise on their part," said Maureen Hartin, a member of an anti-recall group called Taxpayers Saving MiraCosta College. "It was a misguided recall to begin with."

Adams and Post did not return calls requesting interviews Thursday night.

The college has been embroiled in dispute since former college President Victoria Munoz Richart launched an investigation that has cost the college almost $3 million, including legal fees and settlements with personnel. Richart's critics include a large majority of the college's employees, who say Richart overreacted in her handling of the probe that resulted in one guilty plea and the recovery of $305.

Four members of the governing board, including Adams and Post, have steadfastly defended Richart's actions.

Recall proponents said that Adams and Post -- two of a four-member board majority -- squandered taxpayer money on the investigation and subsequent lawsuits, abused their office, and publically bullied and badgered people who speak out against board decisions.

Taxpayers Saving MiraCosta College, the group opposing the recall, said the board majority has represented the college well throughout the investigation. The recall effort is an attempt by college faculty to wrest power from the board and voting taxpayers, they said.

Don Pratola, a member of the recall committee, said Restore MiraCosta leaders decided Wednesday night to end the recall.

"It's dead, barring unforeseen circumstances," Pratola said Thursday.

Pratola said Restore MiraCosta leaders had been considering the move since mid-September, when a team of officials with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges visited the college in response to complaints by faculty members.

In a statement at the end of that visit, team Chairman Chris McCarthy said board members appear to have violated their own policies and state open meeting laws because they "lack clarity and a shared understanding" of those laws.

McCarthy appealed to all groups -- the faculty senate, the classified senate and the governing board -- to work together to heal the rift.

Pratola said Restore MiraCosta leaders decided to honor McCarthy's plea and end the recall to give trustees some breathing room.

In a news release announcing the action late Thursday, Restore MiraCosta leaders said they would be watching the board's behavior closely.

"The visiting team from the regional Accreditation Commission called upon the parties at issue at MiraCosta College to cooperate mutually, for the good of the college, in finding a resolution to the rift opened by the precipitous and unwise actions of the Board Majority," the news release states. "Thus, the Restore MiraCosta Committee is withdrawing active efforts at recall, and awaits a positive response by the Board of Trustees to the Accreditation Team's recommendations."

The accrediting commission will publish a final report in January.

Even before Thursday's announcement, the recall effort had hit a few snags. Three leaders in the group had scaled back their efforts, and the group had suspended gathering signatures on recall petitions because of last week's wildfires. As of Thursday afternoon, volunteers said, they did not know how many signatures had been collected since the campaign began in August.

Pratola said Thursday none of those issues figured into the committee's decision to stand down.

Contact Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or online at pireland@nctimes.com.