Richland, WA is a powder keg over masks and the school board almost lit a spark

Richland School Board member Kari Williams made the right call Tuesday night when she declined to take over President Jill Oldson’s leadership position.

Emotions are running hot in the school district. But now, with Williams’ decision to focus on teamwork rather than a change in power, board members may be on a path toward healing.

We hope they continue in that direction.

In explaining her position, Williams said that instead of changing leaders she believes board members must “try to help each other be better.”

Had Williams decided to vote with Richland School Board members Audra Byrd and Semi Bird to oust Oldson as board president, outrage in the community surely would have escalated.

A letter of “no confidence” in Williams, Byrd and Bird that also calls for their immediate resignation received over 1,400 signatures in just a few days.

The petition is in response to the vote taken last week by these three board members to defy Gov. Jay Inslee’s indoor mask mandate.

That vote went against the Washington Open Public Meetings Act because the topic was not specifically listed on the agenda. It caught the community and school district staff off guard and it led to warnings and rebukes from state officials.

To make matters worse, Richland School Superintendent Shelley Redinger felt forced to cancel school for two days because of the legal ramifications — including the potential for fines from the state Department of Labor and Industries. In the end, the kids eventually went back to school wearing masks.

Such chaos was completely unnecessary.

Inslee was expected to announce an end date to the indoor mask mandate two days after the vote was taken. Why the majority of school board members couldn’t have waited to hear what the governor had to say is still puzzling.

The end of the mask mandate is planned for March 21 — less than a month away.

But instead of coasting to the finish line, furor in the Richland School District seems to have ramped up.

For months, parents against the mask mandate have protested, pleaded and in many cases demanded that the Richland School Board defy the governor’s orders. Noncompliance with the mask order, however, can lead to state officials withholding school district funds.

But last week’s debacle of a vote to immediately make masks optional has infuriated those who want the district to follow state rules — thus prompting the petition against Williams, Byrd and Bird.

With these two frustrated and vocal and organized camps positioned on either side of the mask issue, the best course of action for the school board is to keep calm, work together and ride out the next few weeks until the state mask mandate is moot.

But on Tuesday, Audra Byrd chastised Oldson for making Tuesday’s meeting virtual. Byrd said three school board members wanted the session to be in-person, but that Oldson went against their wishes.

Byrd emphasized that it has been Oldson’s abuse of power and unilateral decision-making that prompted her to make the motion that Williams take over as school board president.

Byrd also said Oldson has gone on a “witch hunt” to get information about her.

Oldson said people send her information about Byrd, but that it mostly comes from people she doesn’t know, and that she hasn’t solicited it. Oldson also told Byrd that she believes there is “a misconception of what I feel is a violation of the law and what you feel is a violation of the law.”

And Oldson said, “I draw the line when I feel the law is being broken.”

Oldson has required citizens to follow the state mandate and wear masks at in-person meetings, which has often put her at odds with many in attendance.

With two opposing groups of upset parents, meeting virtually was the safer call Tuesday — not only for the school board, but for staff and citizens.

The end of masks is in sight. Now is the time for Richland school leaders to focus on the good things they can do together instead of going after issues that tear them apart.

This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 12:16 PM.