An Arizona school board member is facing calls to resign after appearing to make a Nazi salute during a contentious public meeting before later comparing the board president to a dictator and saying, "All I could think of tonight was Hitler."
Video from a May 26 Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board meeting appears to show board member Kimberly Fisher raising her right arm and saying, "Heil, heil" during a dispute with board President Paul Carver Jr. The exchange occurred near the end of the meeting during a disagreement over scheduling a community study session related to district boundary discussions.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators and local Republican stakeholders condemned the Nazi salute while also emphasizing procedural concerns about board operations. Board President Paul Carver Jr., in a Facebook video posted after the meeting, said he adjourned because discussion involved an item not on the posted agenda, which could have violated Arizona's Open Meeting Law. "I was simply following the rules of the state of Arizona," Carver said. He emphasized that Fisher's gesture and comment were inappropriate under any circumstances but noted that Arizona law limits a school board's ability to discipline elected members. Some conservative voices argued for due process while acknowledging the incident warranted her resignation.
What the Left Is Saying
The Deer Valley Educators Association issued a sharp condemnation of Fisher's conduct and called for her immediate resignation. "DVEA was horrified and disgusted to see DVUSD Governing Board Member Kimberly Fisher deliver a Nazi salute during the Tuesday, May 26, 2026, board meeting," association president Kelley Fisher said in a statement. "Any leader who uses a Nazi salute during a School Board meeting is unfit for public service. There is no justification for this behavior." The educators' union joined other progressive voices arguing that such gestures have no place in public education governance and could traumatize students, staff, and community members, particularly those from Jewish backgrounds or communities historically targeted by hate.
What the Numbers Show
The Deer Valley Unified School District serves more than 3,000 students in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The district issued a statement saying Fisher was "acting independently" and that her actions did not represent other board members or staff. No formal disciplinary vote had been scheduled at time of reporting. Carver noted in his video that community members asked why the board was not taking immediate action against Fisher, highlighting that Arizona law provides limited mechanisms for addressing conduct by elected board members between terms.
The Bottom Line
The incident has renewed debate over accountability standards for elected school board officials and whether current state laws provide adequate tools to address misconduct. Carver called Fisher's behavior "rampant and repetitive" and said her actions were "totally unacceptable and unprofessional." Fisher, in a Facebook livestream posted hours after the meeting, doubled down on her criticism of Carver, repeatedly describing his leadership as dictatorial but did not directly address the Nazi salute from the meeting. Voters in the district will have the opportunity to weigh in on Fisher's continued service in future elections.