PAC drops Buckeye recall effort, lawsuit against county — campaign finance questions arise

A Buckeye-based political action committee has ended its months-long effort to recall Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board Member Kris Kenyon and has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the county school superintendent after failing to gather enough valid signatures, closing a heated local fight over school board transparency and oversight.

The 4 Liberty Kids Committee PAC filed a notice this week to drop its lawsuit against Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs, who confirmed the group fell short of the 3,161 signatures required to force a recall election.

The parent-led group, formed by residents frustrated with the district’s leadership, submitted 3,469 signatures last month; however, only 2,618 were deemed valid after review by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. The committee then sued Boggs’ office, claiming that her administration had mishandled the technical requirements for ballot issuance, which led to hundreds of signatures being disqualified.

The left-leaning PAC, along with former Liberty board member Mark Aguire and parent Kristina Guglielmo, alleged that Boggs’ office miscalculated the signature threshold and later instructed them to alter documents by crossing out the incorrect number. They argued the resulting confusion led to petitions being circulated with inconsistent information, costing them enough valid signatures to qualify. Boggs denies any wrongdoing and says her office complied with all legal requirements.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Boggs said she met directly with the group and answered all their questions, adding that while she supports the public’s right to hold elected officials accountable, the law must be followed.

“It is time to move forward, unite and focus on providing the highest quality education for our students and standing strong with our teachers,” Boggs said. “I remain committed to transparency and accountability, but will not allow political distractions to disrupt the important work happening in our schools.”

The PAC’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit formally ends the recall push.

Possible campaign finance violation

Meanwhile, questions have surfaced about the PAC’s own campaign finance reporting. A recent complaint alleges the 4 Liberty Kids Committee accepted individual contributions over $100 without including the legally required occupation and employer information on its Maricopa County Campaign Finance Report.

Under Arizona law (A.R.S. § 16-926), political committees must disclose each donor’s occupation and employer for contributions over $100 during an election cycle. Failing to do so could violate state campaign finance statutes.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office told InBuckeye it does not have jurisdiction, referring the complaint to the county.

“Pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-928, the Secretary of State is the filing officer for statewide and legislative candidates,” said Amy Chan, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office. “Given that this complaint is regarding a committee for which the filing officer is Maricopa County, our office has no jurisdiction.”

The 4 Liberty Kids website has been offline for two days.

Open Meeting Law cleared

Separately, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office found that none of about a dozen Open Meeting Law complaints filed against the Liberty school board substantiated any violations.

Investigators concluded that the board’s private communications, meeting agendas, and social media posts did not amount to illegal deliberations or a lack of transparency.

With the legal matters now resolved, district officials say they hope to move forward and stay focused on serving students and families without further distractions.

4 Liberty Kids representatives were contacted multiple times, but they did not express an intent to reply or comment.