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Kristopher Kenyon and Bryan Parks recall, Liberty Elementary School District, Arizona (2025)
| Liberty Elementary School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Bryan Parks |
| Recall status |
1 Resigned |
| Signature requirement |
Parks: 2,126 signatures |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Kristopher Kenyon and Bryan Parks, members of the Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board in Arizona, did not go to a vote in 2025. Parks resigned from his position on February 7, 2025, and the effort against Kenyon did not collect enough signatures to go to the ballot.[1][2]
The recall effort began in February 2025. Supporters of the recall said over a dozen teachers had resigned since the 2024-2025 school year began. A representative of the teachers union said 16 district staffers and 18 teachers had resigned in the last year. Over 1,600 students, about 38% of the student population, stayed home from school on February 3, 2025, as part of a sickout to protest district leadership.[3]
At the time the recall effort started, Parks was serving as president of the five-member board, and Kenyon was serving as vice-president.[4]
This was the third recall effort in the district since 2021. The effort in 2021 was against two board members and did not go to a vote. The effort in 2023 was against one board member and also did not go to a vote.
Recall supporters
Paul Jensen, district parent and former member of the governing board, said that district officials were pushing teachers and principals out of the district if they voiced concerns on leadership decisions. “It is frustrating to watch all these teachers that are good, that have been with Liberty District for a long time that are being forced out,” Jensen said.[3]
Recall petition against Kenyon
The application for a recall petition against Kenyon can be found below. Scroll in the box to read the full grounds for recall.
Recall petition against Parks
The application for a recall petition against Parks can be found below. Scroll in the box to read the full grounds for recall.
Recall opponents
Parks said the district was doing what it could to keep class sizes down while a new school was being built. “There has been no mismanagement of funds. The district made significant changes this year to improve discipline, student safety; and ELA and math proficiency,” Parks said.[3]
During a board meeting on February 3, 2025, Parks said, "Can we please stop the false narrative that this board does not support or listen to teachers? This board's actions speak directly to our dedication to the support and success of our teachers. We've addressed every major concern brought to this board by our educators."[5]
The school district issued the following statement:[5]
| “ |
According to the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association (ASPAA), 25.4% of teacher vacancies across the state of Arizona this year remain unfilled, while 52.2% of the vacancies in Arizona are filled by teachers who do not meet the state’s standard certification requirements. Liberty employs almost 600 individuals. This school year has seen a small handful of resignations, however, the district continues to quickly fill any vacancy that may come about. We currently have one classroom teacher vacancy for the current year that we are filling. We also have some vacancies being filled with individuals who do not meet the state’s standard certification requirements. It was also reported that there was fiscal mismanagement within the District. In FY24 we had $979,914 in M&O Carryover, as compared to $3,455,608 of Carryover in FY23. The reduction of $2.5 million of carryover was due to the building, funding, and construction of Loretta Zumbro Elementary School and yearly raises that were received by all staff and teachers.[6] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
No specific grounds are required for recall in Arizona. To begin the recall process, supporters must file an application for a recall petition that must be approved by the relevant election office. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast for all candidates at the last election for the relevant office in 120 days.[7]
To get the recall against Kenyon on the ballot, supporters had to collect 2,950 signatures by June 3, 2025, and to get the recall against Parks on the ballot, they would have had to collect 2,126 signatures by June 3, 2025, if he had not resigned.[8]
Recall supporters submitted 3,469 petition signatures to the Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent on June 3, 2025. The county superintendent's office transferred the signatures to the county recorder's office, which had to verify the signatures before the recall could move forward.[8] The county recorder's office did not verify enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot.[2]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 22 school board recall efforts against 40 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 against two other members are being held on November 4, 2025. Recall elections against three other members are being held on November 18, 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
- Liberty Elementary School District, Arizona
- Liberty Elementary School District, Arizona, elections
- Paul Bixler recall, Liberty Elementary School District, Arizona (2023)
- Suzanne McEvoy and Mark Aguire recall, Liberty Elementary School District, Arizona (2021)
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Liberty Elementary School District
- Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC 15, "Liberty Elementary school board president resigns after backlash to staff resignation," February 7, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Recall Elections," accessed July 15, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Arizona's Family, "Families call for resignations, stage ‘sickout’ in Liberty School District over alleged issues," February 3, 2025
- ↑ Liberty Elementary School District, "Meet the Board," accessed February 6, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ABC 15, "Liberty Elementary School District Board facing backlash over teacher resignations," February 4, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Recall," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Recall Elections," accessed June 10, 2025
