A recall petition circulated by a Wrightstown School Board member against the board president has just more than 1,200 signatures, enough to force a recall election, if the petition and signatures are certified. The story was published in the Feb. 15, 2025 issue of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Wrightstown School Board member Rayn Warner said he filed the recall petition Wednesday morning, Feb. 12. The petition says Wrightstown School Board President Angela Hansen-Winker misused legal counsel and mishandled the investigation into former superintendent Andy Space.
The board changed its legal counsel in August, replacing attorney Mary Gerbig with Jim Macy. Gerbig had been with the district for nearly three decades, according to district emails cited in the story.
The recall petitioners maintain that Hansen-Winker could have sought free legal advice from the Wisconsin Association for School Boards, which is partially true: WASB attorneys provide boards with general legal advice as a member service, but establishing an attorney-client service costs an extra fee.
Hansen-Winker states on her website that WASB legal fees were more than the district’s legal counsel fees, which is why she used the district’s attorney. Detailed legal billing statements aren’t available, because Macy is still reviewing them.
What happens now?
The signatures were filed with board clerk Tony Decker, who will ensure the recall petition and signatures are valid. Decker has 31 days to review and certify the petition and its signatures, which Hansen-Winker can challenge. She said she plans to contest it.
After Decker makes his decision, it can be appealed for 10 days, according to reporter Nadia Scharf’s story.
If the petition is approved and makes it through any appeal process, the district will hold a recall election. Wisconsin law mandates it be held on the Tuesday six weeks after the petition is certified, unless there are more than two candidates. In that case, that election day will become a primary, and the actual election will take place on Tuesday four weeks later.
Candidates can be nominated once the petition is approved until the fourth Tuesday before the initial election date. Hansen-Winker is automatically a candidate unless she chooses to withdraw. The recall campaign has not yet announced a candidate to run against her.
More information on specific dates will be available as decisions are made on the petition.
Contact Scharf at nscharf@gannett.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.
