Richland School Board in ‘disarray,’ says state leadership expert brought in for coaching
A Washington school board leadership expert told the Richland School Board last week it was functionally in “disarray” and they need to think hard about what to do about it.
Tricia Lubach, director of the Washington State School Directors’ Association’s leadership development department, made the comments during a 3 1/2-hour special board workshop Friday. The board met to discuss protocols and engage in team-building exercises.
In recent weeks board members divided sharply over defying a state COVID mandate and make masks immediately optional in schools and to consider ousting their current board president.
Their actions sent parents, students and others on both sides to the streets for rallies and even prompted a “no confidence” petition drive.
“Disarray is what’s going on with this team. So, you’re going to decide that you’re going to work together in a productive way with each other, or not,” Lubach told the board.
The board has had a “really contentious couple of months,” which has ultimately led to a lot of tension among board members and staff, Lubach said.
“I think you’re really at the point where you need to decide are you going to continue, as a team, to ramp up the tension or are you really as a group committed to deciding how to work together, even with different perspectives,” said Lubach, who is a Quincy school board member.
WSSDA is a nonpartisan state agency charged by state law with supporting the work of the state’s nearly 1,500 locally-elected school board members.
The agency is overseen by school board members, and it hasn’t taken any position on face masks or COVID-19 vaccines.
Three Richland School Board members and the district were recently named in a lawsuit filed by an Olympia-based activist that argues the board may have violated the state Open Public Meetings Act when they failed to list on their Feb. 15 agenda plans to make masks optional.
The other two board members, Rick Jansons and Jill Oldson, said they were caught off guard by the motion.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
