Thousands of conversations, countless hours of volunteer time over nearly seven weeks, more than 2,000 petition pages, and dozens of misplaced pens are just some of the statistics for the effort to recall Alpena Public School board members Sarah Costain, Monica Dziesinski, and Eric Lawson.

However, the time, effort, and materials for the recall are just a footnote in our initiative. Nearly 4,000 is the number that matters to the dozens of volunteer circulators and the thousands of voters who have signed the petitions. No, it’s not about the 3,771 signatures we need to trigger the recall for each board member; this recall is focused solely on the nearly 4,000 kids who attend APS.

The recall is about stopping the chaos created by these three board members and protecting public education in Alpena. The recall is about putting student achievement first, while setting aside culture-war distractions.

Public education is a cornerstone of our community, and it affects every one of us. Whether you have school-aged kids, pay property taxes, or simply want Alpena’s future community leaders, business owners, and professionals to have a sound education, you have a stake in the recall.

Weakening our public schools weakens Alpena.

This is important because self-interest groups are systematically dismantling public education in Alpena, across Michigan, and around the country. And they’re doing it from the inside!

Signing the petitions will not immediately remove these board members from office. If we collect the required number of signatures, these three will be on the November ballot. That will allow every registered voter in the APS district to vote on whether Lawson, Dziesinski, and Costain remain on our school board.

Working with other concerned community members, I triggered the recall effort because these board members promised to serve all APS students when they ran for their nonpartisan seats in 2024. Then they fell down on their promise almost immediately after they were elected.

Costain repeatedly missed meetings. All three passed up the opportunity for a $150,000 improvement at Alpena High — at little or no cost to taxpayers. And they violated their own policy to manage our taxpayer dollars wisely.

They also toyed with banning books and proposed policies to target vulnerable children.

When students, school staff, and concerned members of the community spoke up or questioned their actions, board President Lawson cut the number of public comment times from two to one. And he tried to stop citizens from clapping for each other because he didn’t like what we had to say. He even had police at the meetings to enforce his illegal attempts to stop free speech.

The recall isn’t personal or political. It’s not about disagreeing with one or two decisions. It’s about ending a destructive pattern; it’s about stopping the people who are supposed to be strengthening and improving Alpena schools from destroying them.

Representative government is messy and difficult at times. Lawmakers knew this and created a system that includes safeguards, including recall, for voters. Recall gives us the chance to make a course correction when we, the voters, feel we’re not being heard or our elected officials need to be held accountable for their actions.

Board members and some of their supporters have said the reasons for the recall “are not worthy” of recall. But that’s not for them to decide for the rest of us. Each registered voter gets to decide for themselves, and thousands of us have signed.

Additionally, our three-member local elections commission unanimously found the petition language is factual and clear. We met the legal standard, now it’s up to voters to be heard. We have two opportunities to use our voices in the recall process: Sign the petitions before June 27, and vote Nov. 3.

On behalf of all of us who are gathering signatures, thank you to our community! It has been a privilege to speak with folks, exchange smiles, share handshakes and fist bumps, and hear the community’s words of gratitude and encouragement. And thank you to the thousands of registered voters from throughout the APS service area, including the city and every township that’s part of the district, for signing to protect public education in Alpena.

Those of you who were less than kind, or even broke the law, have fueled our effort too.

I will file all the signed petitions with the Alpena County Clerk at the end of the month, which is just over a week away. We all know summer days fly by quickly. Don’t wait. Today is your day to sign.

Find us in front of the Alpena Post Office from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, or 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Or find us at Mich-e-ke-wis and the markets behind City Hall on Saturday.

Join the thousands of us who have signed and taken action for the number that matters most: the nearly 4,000 young people who are depending on our community to provide a strong public education.