Petition process started to recall District 25 school board member

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Following the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 (PCSD 25) school board's decision to close Washington Elementary School, local people are petitioning for the recall of board trustee Raymond Knoff.

Kimberly Bernt, a parent of Washington Elementary School students, started petitioning for the recall earlier this week.

"I feel like closing Washington Elementary is a Band-Aid but doesn't actually fix the problem," said Bernt. "We decided that recalling Trustee Knoff would be an opportunity to hold the the school board accountable."

Knoff is the board trustee for zone 4 of School District 25, the zone includes Washington Elementary and the areas that will be impacted by the school closure.

Bernt said they need to collect 853 signatures to finalize the recall petition, but she and her colleagues are hoping to collect as many as 1,500 signatures.

"We know that they still have opportunities to create other solutions and make changes, and this doesn't have to be the final choice," said Bernt. "We would like this movement to encourage them to communicate more and and think outside the box."

Local News 8 reached out to PCSD 25, but they did not respond for comment.