Nationally, only twenty-three states allow recall elections of school board members and of those only six require specific grounds for the recall. Wisconsin allows recalls but does not require specific grounds. In most states, including Wisconsin, the situation is resolved at the ballot box. In Virginia, on the other hand, resolution is in the circuit court.

Over the 2006 to 2020 period, there was an average of 23 school board recall efforts per year involving an average of 52 board members. Already in 2021 there have been 81 recall efforts. Less than 30% of the efforts actually make it to the ballot box and less than 18% of the recalled are actually removed. Reasons given for school board recalls include conduct, bad behavior, funds mismanagement, refusing to listen to constituents, and open meeting laws.

Wisconsin with eleven is second only to California with 25 in recall efforts in 2021. All 15 states with recall efforts only have 81 recall efforts together. Wisconsin, additionally, had five more school board recall efforts involving 36 people in the March to December 2020 .period. In comparison, in 2015, 2016, and 2017 there were only four recalls efforts against Wisconsin school board members each year. Another consideration is that Wisconsin’s current recall efforts involve only 11 of 421 school districts – just 2.6% of Wisconsin’s school districts.

The Mequon-Thiensville (WI) School Board Recall has been in the news since before the concerns with yard signs and First Amendment Rights. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty intervened and the signs were allowed to remain. Then, in early October the Mequon-Thiensville School District establishment publicly declared their opposition to the recall campaign according to the Empower Wisconsin Weekly e-newsletter of October 9, 2021. The newsletter went on to say “But some of the members of the recall resistance movement had no qualms about using the same process to try to politically take out former Gov. Scott Walker.” Former LT Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who was recalled with Gov. Walker over a decade ago, has a different story. While she was opposed to her own recall, she now champions the Mequon-Thiensville school board recall; supporting parents who want more say in their children’s education.

The recall effort in the Sparta Area School District is the only known one in Wisconsin’s Coulee Region. The two school board members being recalled have both since resigned and are being replaced by school board appointment. For a couple of reasons only two of the seven member board were being recalled. While the mask issue appeared to be the primary reason, there were quite possible other issues over the past year or more to include when schools were open or closed, public input, and the incident involving a teacher removed from the classroom last spring. The board member that resigned first had some questionable reasons for missing scheduled meetings. The second member to resign wrote a Letter to the Editor that included “…the outside political group funding it…” without defining that group. Since all the concerned citizens organizing the effort are parents of Sparta students, not really sure about the “outside political group” although I have heard that comment before. Further, this recalled board member was quite vocal in opposing public input and indicated everyone should be vaccinated.

A good question is since both Tomah & Sparta are in Monroe County (and guided by the Monroe County Health Department), why have they treated their schedules during the COVID pandemic differently? All these considerations and we haven’t even mentioned academic performance – or, lack thereof.

Most –if not all- school board elections are in April meaning potential candidates must register as a candidate with the appropriate school board office during the month of December. In Sparta, due to the attempted recall and the resignations, there will be four positions on the ballot. Other school boards should have two –maybe three- contested positions. All school board incumbents need to be challenged and, if successful anyway, will probably be more receptive to public input and the wants and needs of the parents or other tax paying citizens. While the possibility of four new school board members will make a difference in Sparta, even one or two new faces may impact most school boards.

Editor’s Note – This was written prior to Election Day, November 2nd (Mequon-Thiensville recall).