For supporters of an effort to recall three conservative members of the Jefferson County School Board, the potential for an off-year election holds a mixed bag.

If enough signatures are gathered in an effort to oust Board President Ken Witt, Vice President Julie Williams and Secretary John Newkirk, a recall election will be held this November.

But will passionately held opposition to the conservative board translate into actual support from Democratic-leaning voters, many of whom sit out non-presidential year elections?

“That presents a challenge and we’re very mindful of that issue,” said Alan Franklin, political director for ProgressNow, a left-leaning non-profit that is supporting the recall effort. “At the same time, the community’s knowledge of what’s been going on the last two years will motivate voters.”

The board has found itself mired in controversy since voters swept Newkirk, Williams and Witt into power on the five-member board two years ago. Some of those controversies are detailed in recall petition language a group of Jeffco parents submitted to the Jefferson County clerk’s office on Friday.

The parents allege that the board’s hiring of the “novice” current Superintendent Dan McMinimee for $280,000 a year was a waste of taxpayer money. McMinimee’s salary is much higher than that of his predecessor, Cindy Stevenson, a nationally-recognized superintendent who held the position for 12 years.

The board has also violated the state’s open meeting laws “by secretly making major decisions behind closed doors,” petitioners allege.

“They have severely limited public comment at board meetings, bullied students and parents, and released a minor student’s private information in violation of state law,” the petition reads.

The recall effort is also spurred by events surrounding last year’s proposed changes to the Advance Placement history curriculum — an episode that created national headlines after thousands of students walked out of classes in protest.

A call to Witt for comment was not immediately returned. However, Witt, Newkirk and Williams each released statements expressing pride in the work they’ve accomplished over the last two years.

Witt said his work has helped provide raises for teachers, “bring greater equality to education funding” and has given the community and principals “greater control in their schools.”

“In the last election, our community loudly demanded a focus on improved academic achievement, fair funding of all public students and expanding educational choices,” Witt’s statement reads. “I continue to be committed to those goals and to helping every Jeffco student realize their full academic and personal potential.”

McMinimee also released a statement:

“Jeffco schools is in the business of educating our children to best prepare them for the next phase of their lives,” he said. “This is a political matter not germane to our core mission.”

The off-year problem

There certainly is sentiment among some in Jeffco to oust the three board members, but can it happen in a year without President Obama or Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket?

Conservatives are much more prone to vote in off-year elections, which could bode well for those seeking to hold onto their seats.

It was another off-year election, 2013, that propelled the three new members on to the board in the first place — and by significant margins over their progressive-minded opponents.

Lynea Hansen, a spokeswoman for Jeffco United for Action, which is behind the recall effort, said there was no alternative besides November to hold an election without the expensive cost that comes with a special election.

Hansen said the seats of two other board members — Jill Fellman and Lesley Dahlkemper — are up in November anyway. So it won’t cost anything to include more names on the ballot in an election where school board seats are already being considered.

Neither Fellman or Dahlkemper are seeking re-election, so voters will be able to decide on the seats of all five board members, if the recall effort makes the ballot.

While turnout will be a concerns for progressive organizers, there is one thing they won’t have to worry about this November — a massive tax-hike question on the same ballot.

Two years ago, voters statewide overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 66, a $1 billion tax hike for school funding. That was the same year Newkirk, Williams and Witt won their seats.

“There won’t be a statewide tax increase proposed this year, which had an effect of getting out conservative voters,” Franklin said.

Getting to a recall election will require some work. Once the Jeffco clerk’s office approves the petition language, organizers have 60 days to gather 15,000 signatures for each of the three seats they are seeking to recall.

Hansen said a campaign kick-off event will be held on Wednesday at a site soon to be determined.

“I think what you’re going to see at this rally is people are really fed up with the school board,” she said.

Dahlkemper, who has been frustrated by the actions taken by her conservative board colleagues, said “this recall is the community’s hands.”

“It reflects concerns on the part of the community over decisions the board has made,” she said.

But Laura Boggs, a conservative former board member, said Dahlkemper now knows what it feels like to be left isolated and frustrated by majority board policy — something Boggs said she felt during her entire four years on the board.

“As the woman who sat in that minority seat for four years, compromise was not in their vocabulary,” she said.

— Twitter: @VicVela1