Recall Effort Launched Against Four MPS Board Members

Angela Harris speaks during MPS board recall press conference. Photo taken June 12, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

An effort is underway to recall four Milwaukee School Board directors.

Dozens of community members gathered in City Hall Wednesday evening to announce their plans to recall school board President Marva Herndon, Citywide Director Missy Zombor, District 2 Director Erika Siemsen and District 5 Director Jilly Gokalgandhi. The group called on the directors to resign.

“We feel that they were the ones that over the years played a huge role in deception and not being transparent with the community,” said Tamika Johnson, one of the organizers, at a press conference Wednesday evening.

Members of the nascent recall effort said they are not affiliated with any political parties or organizations, they said, and they do not support privatizing public schools.

“Please do not continue to be mistaken or misled by the continuation of the false narratives that the teachers’ union continues to spread about our community members when we decide to take back our collective power,” said Nicole Johnson.

Johnson told Urban Milwaukee the recall is a grassroots movement and that many of the members met each other at school board meetings.

The group wants accountability for the recent controversies surrounding the district’s finances, as well as the system’s overall performance and educational outcomes. A lack of transparency, the school funding referendum and the the board’s treatment of former director Aisha Carr also figured prominently in the complaints offered by the group.

“Sending [former superintendent] Keith Posley out into an early retirement, with a super sweet severance package, does not make these problems go away,” said Linetta Alexander.

MPS’s failure to submit important financial reports to the state was “essential information” voters should have had prior to voting on the $252 million school funding referendum, Johnson said.

Chantia Davis said the school board demonstrated  “financial misrepresentation, irresponsible leadership and the sheer negligence,” adding, “So my question is how dare you ask us for another $252 million referendum?”

More than one member of the group mentioned former board member Carr, who resigned in the wake of a series of controversies and an investigation by the District Attorney’s Office into whether she lived in the district she represented.

“Many of us missed the opportunity to fight for Aisha when she told us the truth about what was going on in this district,” Johnson said.

Angela Harris, an MPS teacher and chair of the Black Educators Caucus MPS is the “cornerstone” of the city and that it is currently broken. Harris said school board directors should be levers for “transparency and accountability” and that the board is not currently demonstrating this.

Members of the group began the process of filing the petitions needed to initiate a recall process Tuesday night. They will finish filing all the necessary paperwork Wednesday, Johnson said.

Once initiated, the group will have 60 days to collect thousands of signatures for each candidate to successfully force a recall election.

“We are prepared to collect thousands of signatures,” Johnson said.

The group is also attempting to organize community opposition to the board’s upcoming budget process. Harris called on community members to attend the board meeting Thursday and demand the board not pass the budget until the district can provide an “adequate accounting of where every single dollar in Milwaukee Public Schools is going to go.”

Signatures Needed For Recall Election

The number of signatures needed to force a recall for each seat is set at 25% of the votes cast in each district during the most recent gubernatorial election (2022).

Marva Herndon – 5,137 signatures

Erika Siemsen – 6,809 signatures

Jilly Gokalgandhi – 7,759 signatures

Missy Zombor –  44,177 signatures