1,500 demand ‘immediate resignation’ of 3 Richland school leaders in wake of mask vote
A letter signed online by about 1,500 people declared “no confidence” in three Richland School Board members embroiled in controversy after a hasty vote last Tuesday to make masks optional.
The letter was drafted by a group of about eight concerned community members and parents over the weekend, said Elizabeth Lugo, one of the petitioners. The authors are calling for the “immediate resignation” of board members Audra Byrd, Kari Williams and Semi Bird.
The large number of signatures was gathered over the span of about two days, mostly through a Google Form passed around online.
“We’re hoping they’ll take this and realize that they are no longer effective leaders. They’ve shown themselves to be ineffective leaders, and we would like for them to voluntarily step down for the betterment of the community because they’re not acting in the interest of the students,” said Lugo, a Richland parent.
In the letter, Byrd and Williams are alleged to have violated at least 16 state and federal policies dealing with open public meetings laws and the Washington State School Directors Association standards, among others.
Bird also is alleged of have violated the First Amendment by deleting public comments from his campaign Facebook page, which he manages privately though uses to discuss board matters.
The letter was presented at Tuesday night’s virtual board meeting, during an abbreviated public commenting period.
Brian Brendel, who spoke on behalf of the petitioners, said the three board members violated their oath of office, code of ethics, school district policy, the state Open Public Meetings Act, the U.S. Constitution and the state’s health mandates.
“Their actions tear down the very institutions they were elected to serve, ignore the ethical standards they swore to uphold, and deny the underlying democratic processes central to our way of life,” Brendel said.
The letter came after Byrd, Williams and Bird voted 3-2 last week to allow the district to go “mask optional” at a special meeting last week in defiance of Washington state COVID masking rules.
While some parents were excited about their decision, others were upset with the suddenness of the action and the lack of transparency presented in the decision making, which followed a two-hour, closed-door executive session. The mask issue was not specifically listed as a topic for discussion on that meeting agenda.
“It’s really about the process and procedure,” Danica Garcia, a former Richland School Board candidate and parent, told the Herald before the meeting.
School Superintendent Shelley Redinger then closed schools for two days in response to legal concerns over the decision. In another emergency meeting Thursday, the school board changed its vote to make mask optional starting on March 21, when the statewide ban is expected to be lifted.
For now, Richland students, staff and visitors are still required to wear masks in schools.
When asked if the letter would serve as the foundation of a possible election recall vote, Garcia said “all options are on the table.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 5:47 PM.
