Richland School Board to consider paying attorney fees for 3 members facing recall threat
The Richland School Board at Tuesday night’s meeting will consider paying the legal fees of three of its members involved in a recall effort.
An agenda item to “consider requests, discussions, and potential vote(s)” to pay for board members Audra Byrd, Semi Bird and Kari Williams’ attorney fees is on the April 26 agenda.
The five-member board meets 6:30 p.m. via Zoom and in-person.
Galt Pettett, legal counsel for the board and school district, said he’s unsure if the three board members will need to recuse themselves from the vote, citing existing board policy on conflicts of interest.
A determination will be made before the vote, he said.
The trio are facing a recall effort levied by a group of Richland voters after the three board members voted in February to go against Gov. Jay Inslee’s mask mandate and make them optional in their school district.
The recall petitions alleges Byrd, Williams and Bird exceeded their power as school board members, broke state law by violating the governor’s emergency proclamation and indoor COVID mask mandate, broke Washington’s open meetings law, and violated multiple school district ethics and policies in the process.
Those petitions were filed April 11.
A ballot synopsis of charges will be heard by a Benton County Superior Court judge, who will have until May 11 to make a determination if the charges meet the state’s criteria for recall.
The move to briefly go “mask optional” put board members — and the school district — in risky legal territory.
A lawsuit was filed shortly after the vote by an open government activist, who’s claiming the three board members and district violated state Open Public Meetings Act laws.
The board hasn’t had any public discussion yet on that lawsuit, which is still in the early stages.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
