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Kenai Peninsula Borough School District recall, Alaska (2025)
| Kenai Peninsula Borough School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jason Tauriainen Penny Vadla |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Alaska Alaska recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the nine members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Alaska did not go to a vote in 2025. Kelley Cizek, Jason Tauriainen, and Penny Vadla were named in the recall petitions. The petitions were rejected by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk's Office due to the reasons for recall being about the actions of the superintendent, who is not an elected official, rather than the actions of the board.[1][2]
Recall supporters
All three recall petitions contained the same reasons for recall. They said the board members "failed to maintain high standards of performance, accountability, and conduct to meet the public trust that was bestowed by the public of each member." The petitions also said the board members "failed to alert the public that the Superintendent had proposed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Central Peninsula Hospital to provide clinic and telemedicine care at Nikiski Middle/High School. Without parental notification."[2]
The petitions were filed by Jeanne Reveal, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board in 2024. "If you know something's wrong, and you see something's wrong, and you don't say, 'I don't support that,' or 'I do support that' – there was no vote," Reveal said. "There was no process to put that in front of the people."[1]
Recall opponents
Superintendent Clayton Holland said his discussions with Central Peninsula Hospital never came to fruition. "Of course, we would never do anything with a kid without parental consent," Holland said. "And so that's just part of that kind of nonsense that's put out there, but no, so it never even happened."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Alaska
Alaska allows the following grounds for recall: "misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties." To start the recall process, supporters must file an application for a recall petition containing the signatures of 10 voters who are sponsoring the petition. If a municipal clerk determines the application meets the requisite requirements, the petition will be approved to circulate. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures within 60 days of the recall petition getting approved. For an at-large officeholder, the petition must be signed by a number of voters equal to 25% of the votes cast for that office at the last regular election. For an officeholder who represents a specific district, the petition must be signed by a number of the voters residing in the district equal to 25% of the votes cast in the district for that office at the last regular election.[3]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 21 school board recall efforts against 39 board members in 2025. Recall elections against three board members were approved by voters on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025, removing all three from office. Recall elections are also being held on November 4, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Alaska
- Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Alaska, elections
- Recall campaigns in Alaska
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
- Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk's Office
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alaska Public Media, "Petitions seek recall of Kenai Peninsula school board members," June 17, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk's Office," July 11, 2025
- ↑ Alaska State Statutes, "Title 29. Municipal Government; Chapter 26. Elections; Article 3. Recall." accessed October 16, 2023
