A moment captured on video at a Deer Valley Unified School District governing board meeting on May 26 has sparked widespread backlash and calls for resignation after a board member appeared to perform a gesture critics say resembled a Nazi salute. Footage of the meeting appears to show board member Kimberly Fisher raising her right arm and uttering "heil, heil" during a heated exchange with board President Paul Carver Jr. The incident happened toward the end of a meeting that had become contentious while board members were debating how and when to schedule a community study session tied to boundary discussions.
At an Arizona school board meeting, a member at left raises her arm in a gesture critics say resembled a Nazi salute, a moment that drew widespread backlash.
Video of the session shows Fisher objecting to holding the proposed study session during the afternoon, arguing that community members would struggle to attend if it were scheduled at that time. "The whole point of having a study session with our community is that we can get their input and they can hear our discussions," Fisher said during the meeting as the board debated next steps. The disagreement escalated near the meeting's close when Carver moved to adjourn, saying the discussion had turned to an item that was not on the posted agenda and could therefore raise questions under Arizona's Open Meeting Law.
Carver addressed the decision to adjourn in a video posted after the meeting, saying: "The reason for calling for the adjournment was simply that, as the question turned into discussion concerning an item that was not on the agenda, the board was moving into an area that could have been considered a violation of Arizona's Open Meeting Law." He said Fisher made the gesture and comment after the motion to adjourn. Carver pushed back on suggestions that Fisher's conduct was warranted by his actions, saying he was following the applicable rules and that making such gestures is never acceptable: "The point behind this post is that there's a lot of noise being made that she may have been justified in making that statement because she felt like I was being a dictator. I was simply following the rules of the state of Arizona," he said, adding, "it is never okay to make those gestures and make that statement with those gestures in any environment."
District officials moved quickly to distance themselves from Fisher's behavior, issuing a statement condemning any language or gestures tied to hate or intimidation. "The District does not condone, support, or endorse gestures or language associated with hate, discrimination, intimidation or violence in any form," the Deer Valley Unified School District said. The statement emphasized that Fisher was acting on her own and that her views and actions "do not reflect and should not be attributed to other board members, staff, other members of the school community or the District."
Local educators also voiced strong condemnation. The Deer Valley Educators Association said it was "horrified and disgusted" by what it described as a Nazi salute during the board meeting and called on Fisher to step down. "Any leader who uses a Nazi salute during a School Board meeting is unfit for public service. There is no justification for this behavior. Kimberly Fisher should resign before she does more harm to our students and the community at large," DVEA President Kelley Fisher said in the association's statement.
Hours after the meeting, Kimberly Fisher posted a Facebook livestream in which she doubled down on her criticisms of Carver's leadership. In the livestream she repeatedly described his style as dictatorial and urged voters not to support him in future elections. "We have been living or operating under virtually a dictatorship for a long time," Fisher said on the livestream, accusing Carver of acting like "a dictator." Toward the end of the broadcast she connected her thinking during the meeting to historical examples of authoritarian leaders, saying, "What was it? Pol Pot, you know, was the most egregious dictator I've heard of. All I could think of tonight was Hitler." Fisher did not directly address the gesture or the "heil, heil" comment from the meeting during that livestream.
In a separate video responding to questions from community members, Carver said residents had asked why the board had not taken action against Fisher and sought to explain legal limits on disciplining elected officials. "I need the community to understand that in the state of Arizona, the school district and the board do not have the ability to discipline board members," he said. Carver described Fisher's behavior as "rampant and repetitive" and labeled it "totally unacceptable and unprofessional." He urged members of the public to be aware of the legal boundaries that affect how the board can respond to conduct by an elected colleague.
Deer Valley Unified School District serves more than 33,000 students across northern Maricopa County, including areas of north Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, Cave Creek and New River. The episode has prompted vocal responses from community members and advocacy groups, and leaders within the district and its educator association have publicly criticized the conduct captured on video and urged accountability. The matter remains a subject of local concern as district officials and community stakeholders react to the footage and to comments made in the aftermath of the May 26 meeting.