Citizens have collected enough signatures to launch a recall election against Marianne Blackwell, the Zone 4 trustee for the Middleton School District.

Joe Decker, a public information officer for Canyon County, confirmed the recall efforts on Friday morning.

The recall effort further escalates the serious turmoil in the Middleton district.

Three of five trustees now face possible recall elections. Tim Winkle, the board’s chair and Zone 3 trustee, and Zone 1 trustee Aleisha McConkie also face recall elections, possibly as early as August.

Superintendent Josh Middleton has resigned, effective June 30.

And Ben Merrill, a popular principal at Middleton High School, was let go and replaced earlier this week.

The three trustees facing recall have been on opposite sides of the controversy surrounding Merrill. Merrill’s accusations against district officials were the subject of a board investigation that concluded in April. Trustees voted not to renew Merrill’s contract on May 6, over Blackwell’s objections.

A copy of the petition for Blackwell’s recall, emailed to EdNews, doesn’t mention Merrill, but instead says that Blackwell has violated a code of ethics for board members and “set an unprofessional and unacceptable precedent for school board trustees.”

In order for any of the district trustees to be recalled, Decker explained, two things have to happen. One, the majority of voters have to approve a recall of a given trustee. But also, the number of votes in favor of recall has to at least match the number of votes that the trustee received when they were elected.

Blackwell did not immediately respond for a request for comment. This story will be updated if she responds.