Apache Junction school board recall efforts fail to collect enough signatures

The effort to recall two Apache Junction Unified School District school board members failed to collect enough signatures to make the ballot, the recall committee announced Monday.

In April, district educators and community members launched a recall campaign against Apache Junction Unified School District governing board member Gilbert Cancio and board President Dena Kimble in response to the board's decision to sever ties with former superintendent Heather Wallace, who had worked in the district for 24 years before beginning as superintendent in July 2021. The board voted 3-2 on April 10 for a mutual severance agreement with Wallace, who was the district's third superintendent in six years.

It's unclear exactly why the board chose to part ways with Wallace. In a letter to district families alerting them of the decision, Kimble said Wallace and the board had determined their visions for the district were different.

Kimble, who is in her ninth year on the board, and Cancio, who has been on the board since late 2020, voted for the severance agreement. The third board member who voted for the agreement, Gail Ross, had only been in office for four months when the recall campaign was launched and couldn't be recalled until completing six months of her first term.

The decision to sever ties with Wallace was met with an uproar from educators and parents, as well as outspoken opposition from board member Bobby Bauders, who voted against the decision and said that Wallace was forced out. Bauders also helped to organize the recall efforts.

At community events and local businesses, as well as through door-knocking campaigns, the recall committee — called "For Our AJUSD Kids" — told district residents that the board has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in superintendent severance payouts in recent years. Wallace's severance package was at least $132,000, and in 2021, the board negotiated a severance package of at least $144,000 with former superintendent Krista Anderson, according to severance agreements provided by the district.

The committee first met in April with over 60 participants, according to committee member Braden Lopez Biggs, and continued to meet throughout the spring and summer.

It had until 5 p.m. on August 16 to collect at least 4,062 signatures for both Kimble and Cancio to put a recall before voters.

On Monday morning, two days before the deadline, the committee announced that it had failed to meet that number for both members.

There has only been one successful school board recall effort in Pinal County in the past two decades, according to Nicole O’Brien, the assistant to the county superintendent.

The recall committee will now become a watchdog group for the district's school board members, according to a news release from the committee. It will also seek out candidates to run against Cancio during the November 2024 election. Terms for both Kimble and Ross end in 2026.

"We educated our stakeholders on the wasteful spending and on what their elected officials are doing," the release stated. "While we did not meet our initial goals, we succeeded in bringing the voice of the community out."

"We are not done, election year is next year, and we will continue to stay active" monitoring board members and holding them accountable, the release said.

District protest: Uproar after Apache Junction school board votes to sever ties with superintendent

Biggs declined to provide the number of signatures collected for each board member except to say that it was in the thousands.

In May, the board voted 3-2 to select Robert Pappalardo, who was a principal in the district over a decade ago, as its superintendent. The board was split the same way as it was for the decision to sever ties with Wallace.

The Apache Junction Unified School District serves approximately 2,700 students in Apache Junction, Gold Canyon and Queen Valley. The district's five schools — a high school, middle school and three elementary schools — began classes on July 24.

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @maddieparrish61.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Apache Junction school board recall efforts fall short