The MPS School Board Recall Collaborative is collecting signatures to recall four Milwaukee Public Schools board members.
As of last week, the group had 37,000 signatures but is aiming for 60,000.
Since early June, the group of MPS parents and community leaders has been calling for a recall of half the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors, including President Marva Herndon, Vice President Jilly Gokalgandhi and members Erica Siemsen and Missy Zombor.
Why? They’re tired of being bamboozled, members of the group said.
Tamika Johnson, who spoke for the group at its June 12 news conference, said the four board members worked to hide the truth from the public and pushed a false narrative about the need for more funding.
“They asked us to dig deeper into our pockets for a school district, and a board of elected leaders that have been irresponsibly managing our funding,” she said.
What is a recall?
A recall is a process where voters can remove elected school board members from office before their terms expire.
It’s a multiple part process.
The MPS School Board Recall Collaborative has already completed the first step — initiating the recall process.
Now, the group is in step two of the process, which is collecting signatures from registered voters in the district.
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature, a petition for the recall of a school board member needs to have the votes of at least 25% of the votes cast for that member in the last election in that district.
If the petition receives enough votes, then the votes need to be verified. Once that happens, a recall election can be created.
Has Milwaukee ever had a successful recall?
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, Milwaukee’s last successful recall was of several Milwaukee County officials in 2002.
There is no recorded evidence that there has been a successful recall of a school board member in Milwaukee.
What’s happening now
The group is still canvassing for more signatures and asking that the community get involved in its efforts.
Not everyone supports the recall efforts, however.
The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, the union for MPS staff that backed Zombor, Herndon and Siemsen in their elections, called on the recall group to share details about its donors.
“It is ironic that a group of individuals who claim to be upset about transparency and financial reporting at MPS themselves failed to file the most basic finance reports required of them, and now refuse to tell voters the truth about it,” MTEA President Ingrid Walker-Henry said in a statement.
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