PHOENIX — Tensions ran high Tuesday night as outraged parents, educators, and community members packed a Deer Valley Unified School District board meeting to confront board member Kim Fisher over what many described as an anti‑Semitic gesture made during a meeting two weeks earlier.
The controversy centers on video from that earlier meeting in which Fisher appeared to make a Nazi salute while expressing frustration with the board president. ABC15 reviewed the footage but chose not to air it due to its sensitive nature.
During Tuesday’s meeting, emotions boiled over as Fisher addressed the crowd briefly before leaving early — prompting loud boos and jeers from attendees.
“I’m just really appalled by what Kim Fisher did, and it’s time that she’s held accountable,” said community member Dakota Davis.
Katie Stell, Vice President of the Deer Valley Education Association, said the gesture was “horrifying and shocking,” adding that Fisher has displayed “unpleasant behavior” in the past.
Another speaker, identifying as Jewish, told the board the gesture “hit a nerve,” given their family history.
The Deer Valley Education Association is now calling for Fisher’s resignation.
Fisher declined to answer questions from reporters before the meeting. During public comment, several speakers addressed her directly.
“The salute you threw up, Miss Fisher — that’s intended to silence people, that’s intended to intimidate people,” one community member said. Another added, “My family lost sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers at Auschwitz.”
In a statement released after the initial incident, the district said it “does not condone gestures or language associated with hate.”
Fisher has since posted an apology on Facebook to those offended by her actions and said she is seeking legal advice. She defended herself Tuesday, saying, “My actions were nothing more than calling out the dictatorship that we have been dealing with.”
For many in the community, the apology fell short.
“If teachers are held to a certain standard of being professional, then I think board members who know they are being live‑streamed out to the entire community should be held to a level of professionalism as well,” Davis said.
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Fisher indicated that she is not quitting the board. Fellow board members cannot oust her themselves. There would have to be a recall election.
Community members and the teachers' union say they will continue pushing for accountability.
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