Voters approved a recall election against Kirstin Shapiro, member of the Regional School Unit 21 Board of School Directors in Maine, on December 17, 2024. A total of 171 voters cast ballots in favor of the recall, and three voters cast ballots against it, according to unofficial election night results.
Shapiro resigned from her position on November 14, 2024, but the recall election was still held because the withdrawal deadline had already passed when she resigned.
The recall effort started in October 2024 during stalled contract negotiations between the school board and the Kennebunk Arundel Kennebunkport Educators’ Association. Teachers began the 2024-2025 school year without a contract as their former contract expired on August 31, 2024. At the time the recall began, Shapiro was serving as a member of the committee representing the school district in the negotiations.
The recall effort was initiated by Arundel resident Dorothy Gregoire. Gregoire said that Shapiro’s behavior caused a loss of confidence in her judgment and her ability to serve on the board. Gregoire also said that Shapiro had violated the school board’s policies on handling complaints.
The board of school directors voted 9-3 on November 8, 2024, to censure Shapiro for her behavior and misconduct during a school board meeting in September.
Shapiro said that censuring her or removing her from office sent the following message to elected officials: “Don’t speak up, don’t advocate for students, don’t follow or enforce the rules, because if the rules frustrate people, then they will come for you and even your family relentlessly.”
Shapiro said she had expected that participating in contract negotiations would be challenging. “What I did not anticipate was that my commitment to education and to this community would be seen as negative,” she said. “This past year, I have witnessed and received more harassment than I care to recall on social media, in public meetings, and through a barrage of emails sent to the district. My family, understandably, does not feel safe.”
To put the recall against Shapiro on the ballot, recall supporters had to collect 231 signatures in 14 days. The signatures were equal to 10% of registered voters in the town of Arundel who cast ballots in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial election.
Ballotpedia has tracked 39 school board recall efforts against 81 board members in 2024. School board recall elections in 2024 removed 14 members from office, including three who resigned before the election, and retained seven members in office.
Ballotpedia had tracked a total of 244 recall efforts against 381 officials across all office types as of December 18, 2024. At that time, 76 of the officials targeted for recall had been removed from office in a recall election, which was a success rate of 20%.
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