A recall effort targeting two Winneconne School Board members has drawn attention to the board's connections with Moms for Liberty, with some board members and neighbors raising concerns about the organization's influence on loc al government.Winneconne School Board member Jill Verich spoke about those concerns in an interview with NBC 26 last week."They are affiliated with Mothers for Liberty," Verich said of some of her fellow board members, including board president Kati Caelwarts. "They are biased towards that group and they should not be bringing those politics to the board."Campaign finance records show Moms for Liberty donated a total of $13,000 to several political campaigns across Wisconsin. About $70 each went to Kari Flagg and Cindy Otten, who were elected to the Winneconne board last April. Dean Ackmann, board vice president and the target of a recall petition, serves as treasurer of the Winnebago County chapter of Moms for Liberty.Laura Ackmann, the chapter chair and Dean Ackmann's wife, described how the organization approached the candidates."We looked at these candidates. Their values aligned with Moms for Liberty, and we said, hey, you know, we would like to endorse you," Ackmann said. "We did ask them, hey, if you want help running your campaign or going out and door-knocking, we have people that like to do that. We're more than happy to do that."Moms for Liberty's website says the organization wants to "educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights."However, the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group that specializes in civil rights, has classified Moms for Liberty as an anti-government organization.Travis McAdam, research and analysis manager for the Southern Poverty Law Center, described how the group operates."They often claim that local public servants, whether that's school personnel, whoever it might be, are part of these vast conspiracy theories dedicated to indoctrinating kids, harming kids, usurping the role of parents, or those kind of similar narratives," McAdam said.On Wednesday morning, Winneconne students plan to gather outside the school in support of District Administrator Dr. Margaret Larson, who was recently placed on leave by the school board.A petition to recall board president Kati Calewarts had more than 1,000 signatures as of last week. Petitioners would need around 1,500 signatures to force a recall election.Calewarts told NBC 26 last week she believes the recall attempt is driven by "hatefulness." She said claims made against her are false and that her decision to work with a law firm was legal and within her authority.Critics have said Calewarts and other board members are trying to bring "radical change" to Winneconne schools.WATCH THE FULL BROADCAST STORY HERE: Moms for Liberty ties fuel Winneconne school board recallThis story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less