Richland School Board members recall decision to come later on Wednesday
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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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A Benton County Superior Court decision on the effort to recall three Richland School Board members was due late Wednesday.
Petitions were filed last month to recall school board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams for allegedly violating the state Open Public Meetings Act, district code of ethics, district policies and procedures and state law when they voted in February to stray from the state’s indoor mask mandate and make mask wearing at the district optional.
A decision by Superior Court Judge Norma Rodriguez did not come in time to make the Tri-City Herald’s deadline for the Thursday print edition. The decision will be posted online after it’s issued Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday was the last day to meet the Washington state legal deadline.
The recall group filed the documents with the Benton County Auditor’s Office on April 11.
Rodriguez will decide if the charges meet the state’s standard for recall.
If any of the charges levied against the school board members get Rodriguez’s approval, the recall group can move forward with signature gathering to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide.
The judge heard about six hours of arguments over two days this week.
“I cannot consider the truth of these counts ... it’s just to whether these charges are properly and sufficiently supported, and that’s all we’re doing today,” she told the attorneys and others in the courtroom on Wednesday morning.
