MIDDLETON, Idaho — Two Middleton School Board members are facing a possible recall in August after community members gathered enough signatures to get a recall effort on the ballot.
One of the organizers behind the recall effort, Ray Moore, tells KTVB enough signatures have been gathered for a possible recall of Aleisha McConkie and Tim Winkle, who is also the board chairman.
Some community members are upset and feel the board made a mistake by not renewing Middleton High School principal Benjamin Merrill's contract at a board meeting in early May. Since that meeting, many in the community have been pushing for a recall of the three board members who voted to not bring Merrill back next year.
According to Moore, the required number of signatures needed for a recall was at least 50 percent of the ballots cast in the last election. He said Canyon County has certified the signatures and verified that number has been met.
Both Winkle and McConkie's names will be on August ballots. The recall needs a simple majority vote to pass. Moore said there is another component to the vote: they also need at least as many voters to turn out in August as voted for the school board members in the prior election.
The county sent out a letter notifying the board members of the recall and allowing them an option to resign before it goes to a vote. Moore said so far, neither McConkie nor Winkle has done so.
A recall on a third board member, Kirk Adams, can't yet move forward because he hasn't been in office long enough, Moore said.
A state statute requires board members to have served at least 90 days in office before any recall petitions can be circulated. Adams was appointed to fill a board vacancy in April. So according to Moore, they can't gather signatures against Adams until sometime in July. After that time, if enough signatures are gathered, Adams' name will likely be on November ballots.
