Update: Richland School District will pay the legal fees to defend recall — with a catch
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Richland School Board Recall Effort
A high-profile group of voters filed to recall board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams after their controversial vote to make face masks optional.
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The Richland School District will reimburse three school board members’ legal fees related to a recall effort, but only if a judge finds the charges against them are insufficient to go on a ballot.
The school board made the decision at Tuesday night’s regular meeting after discussing the legality of paying the attorney fees for Audra Byrd, Kari Williams and Semi Bird — the three Richland members facing a recall effort.
Before the meeting, questions were raised about if the trio could even vote on their own indemnification. The district’s attorney Galt Pettett said there were some concerns that board members may be violating their own policies on conflicts of interest by doing so.
Clifford Foster, a longtime Seattle education attorney, advised the board at the meeting and said they had a right under Washington state law to seek indemnification through the district and that it was likely legal for board members to vote for their own legal protection.
It’s still a politically sticky situation, Foster said. The board members should consider the appearance of a conflict of interest, as well as any risks that would undermine the public’s trust in the board and its credibility.
“It’s not prohibited by law for a board member to (not) recuse themselves from voting, but at the same time it’s not a situation where you necessarily have to vote for yourself. But that’s the political calculation I don’t give advice about,” Foster said.
While Bird and Byrd voted in favor of conditionally having the district cover their legal fees, Williams recused herself from voting on her own indemnification.
“I have five kids and I don’t get paid for this job,” said Williams, who voiced hesitation around the whole discussion. “I’m just not sure if I want to dip into our kids college funds and our savings in order to pay for legal fees.”
All the other board members — including President Jill Oldson and Rick Jansons — were in support of the plan.
Bird said he would be fine if the recall ultimately went to the ballot.
“It’s another way of saying that the people made a choice, and they supported the decisions we made,” Bird said.
Oldson said that it was not her job to “judge each and every one of you. It is our own job and the constituents of our community to make that decision.”
“If it never even gets to the point for the community to make that decision, then who am I to say that it should’ve been and we shouldn’t cover your legal fees,” she said.
Cost of recall
Byrd and Bird claim the recall election would cost the district $150,000 to $250,000, but it’s too early to estimate.
Ty Beaver, district spokesperson, said the district has not formally determined a cost if the board’s petitions were to move on to the ballot. The district would end up covering the election costs.
Variables, such as whether a special election would need to be called, should be taken into account, and Beaver said they just don’t have a lot of those details at the moment.
“What that cost is depends on various factors,” he said.
A special election could cost upwards of $250,000, said Benton County Elections Manager Amanda Hatfield, but she’s unsure what the total could be.
The measure to recall former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher, which appeared on the August 2021 primary ballot, cost Benton County $119,000.
Charges alleged
Recall petitions were filed against Bird, Williams and Byrd, accusing them of exceeding their power as school board members, of breaking state law by violating the governor’s emergency proclamation and indoor COVID mask mandate, of breaking Washington’s open meetings law, and of violating multiple school district ethics and policies in the process.
The petitions were filed by a group of citizens on April 11.
A Benton County Superior Court judge will have until May 11 to determine if the charges meet the state’s standards for recall. The judge will not rule on if the parties are guilty of the allegations.
If the charges hold up to the state’s standards, the recall group — made up of Brian Brendel, Bradley Rew, Michael Lawrence and Tony Peurrung — will have 180 days to collect enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
The number of signatures required will be based on a percentage of the voters in the last election that Bird, Bryd and Williams were on the ballot.
If the goal is met, the recall question will go to Richland School District voters.
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
