Update | Richland school board still meeting in emergency session over mask decision

4:30 update

After two hours behind closed doors, the Richland School Board continues to meet in an executive session.

Board President Jill Oldson has extended the meeting three times, saying there is the possibility of action following the meeting.

Officials haven’t announced yet whether there will be school tomorrow.

Classes were canceled today because of the board’s split vote Tuesday to make masks optional.

About 1,000 people had signed in to watch remotely through Zoom to see if the board made a public announcement after their closed meeting with their attorney Wednesday afternoon.

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The Richland School Board is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss Tuesday’s surprise vote to defy the state mask mandate.

The school board is expected to go into a closed-door executive session with their attorney at 2:30 p.m.

Their action forced a shutdown of all Richland and West Richland schools on Wednesday. It’s not clear when schools will reopen.

The agenda sent out at 11:15 a.m. says the topic is the COVID-19 mask mandate and the Open Public Meetings Act.

The agenda says there could be possible action taken in an open session after the executive session.

No public comments will be allowed at today’s meeting.

The public can watch the meeting remotely on the district website.

The move comes after a surprise motion during a special meeting of the school board on Tuesday. The 3-2 vote to make masks option wasn’t on the agenda for the meeting, as required by Washington’s open meetings law.

The decision raised questions during the meeting about whether or not the board gave the public enough notice about what they intended to do.

Board President Jill Oldson has said the decision also raises other legal questions as it puts school administrators in potential conflict with the Department of Labor & Industries.

It also may impact the district’s contract with the Richland Education Association.

The Washington state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction drafted a letter Wednesday morning requesting the district reverse course.

If it doesn’t do so after 15 days, the state would send a second notice with a five-day deadline.

After that point, the state could begin withholding money from the school district.

This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 12:03 PM.