Ethics violation? Reykdal feels Richland board member’s email went too far
Did a Richland School Board member skirt ethics policies when she used her official school district email to tell Washington state’s highest schools official to “quit being a coward” and get his “act together?”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal says maybe so.
Emails provided to the Herald through the state’s Public Records Act show Richland board member Audra Byrd and Reykdal engaged in a short but fiery email exchange on Feb. 10.
And at one point Reykdal warned that her words using a taxpayer-funded account may be violating ethics policies for public officials.
“It may be viewed as political speech,” Reykdal wrote.
“You are always free to share your feelings with me. If it is official school district business, or if you are representing your board, then use your district account,” he said. “If you are expressing your passion or opinions in your personal and private capacity, I strongly suggest you use a personal email account.”
The exchange came as Washington state was planning to lift its mask mandate, and as Byrd, who was elected back in November, was gathering support for a vote to make masks optional immediately.
In fact, Reykdal’s initial email sent about 1 p.m. on Feb. 10 to public school leaders was specifically about that — a reminder to keep following masking guidance as he and Gov. Jay Inslee discussed a timeline for ending the mandate, and that violations could lead to withholding of state apportionment and expose the district to lawsuits.
Byrd responded, saying he was “manipulative and dishonest.”
“Instead of telling school board members to be patient while we deal with suicides and mental health crisis and protests in our schools every day, how about you get your act together with Gov. Inslee and get our mandates released like every other state (besides one) has figured out. Quite (sic) sending threats,” she wrote.
The state superintendent responded a half-hour later, saying they both took an oath to follow state law.
“A law enforcement officer is not threatening you if she pulls you over and gives you a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. The health inspector is not threatening a restaurant owner when they cite them for unsafe conditions. And I am not threatening you by reminding you of law and order,” he wrote.
Byrd decided not to respond after Reykdal’s response to her comments.
“I didn’t feel like hashing it out,” she told the Herald this week.
‘Inappropriate’
Reykdal told the Herald he’s received many comments from board members concerned about public health guidance since the start of the pandemic, but nothing “to that extent.”
“It’s pretty unusual. It’s definitely out of the norm, and I think it’s inappropriate,” he said.
She’s entitled to her comments, he said, but she should have used a personal email account.
“She’s officially acting in capacity as a school board member, so it’s a different ballgame then. We have pretty clear ethics laws about not using public resources, including email and time, for ballot initiatives, legislation ... I didn’t say it’s an ethics violation, I said I think it likely is because she’s using public taxpayer resources to ideologically go after someone,” Reykdal said.
Tim Garchow, executive director of the Washington State School Directors’ Association, a state agency that works to support school board members and their business, said there is no state agency that investigates or charges school board members with perceived or alleged instances of ethics violations.
“The ultimate evaluation of a school board member is the election or recall process,” he said.
That’s not to say school board members are above the law, though.
Criminal violations can be referred to law enforcement, and there are entities at the state level that investigate questionable actions around campaign finance and conflicts of interest.
Repercussions can also come from the board, such as a censure vote.
In a document sent to the board listing pros and cons of the mask optional vote, board member Semi Bird raised the topic of Byrd being censured, though the reasoning for a potential censure was not mentioned.
Speaking to the Herald this week, Board President Jill Oldson said the board has never discussed censuring Byrd.
“She was vocal and passionate about it. I honestly don’t think anybody liked the masks, ever, but we have a responsibility to uphold the law of the state of Washington,” Oldson said.
Byrd told the Herald she didn’t buy Reykdal’s comments about an ethics violation, and that it fell within her rights to speak for her constituents. She felt his comments to public school employees were at odds with what he was telling the public.
Reykdal said he doesn’t expect the latest variant of COVID-19 will bring about another mask mandate for public and in schools in Washington state, despite an uptick in cases in the U.S.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
