Debate over RSD recall continues, School Board President responds
Richland Wash. — We're continuing to follow a developing story in Richland.
This morning in John Dam Plaza, supporters continued to gather signatures needed for a petition to recall Richland School Board Members Audra Byrd, Semi Bird, and Board President Kari Williams, after the district's decision to go against state mask mandates to allow mask choice in Richland schoolslast February.
Leaders in support of the recall effort say for each case, they need to collect around 5,000 signatures, or 25% of the total of Richland voters from each of the member's respective elections to move forward after a Washington Supreme Court ruling.
Recall organizers say they are encouraged by the support they are seeing, but say they can't yet pinpoint the number of signatures gathered.
Carrie Hallquist, an Organizer for the Richland School Board Recall says. "I think it's important for it to go through because I think it sends a message to people who are considering running, what type of representation the members of Richland and West Richland and our community as a whole want."
Today we spoke with the president of the Richland School Board Kari Williams who says she believes no laws were broken, saying last year's decision was made with advice from medical and legal experts, in an effort to give students and parents medical freedom, a few weeks before the state's mask mandate ended.
Williams tells us with terms ending for two of the board members later this year, that the $250,000 in funds potentially being spent dealing with the recall effort could cost the district more money than it's worth, at a time she says students should be the primary focus of money spent.
"Most people who reach out to me when they hear that we are going to be footing this bill, they're very upset. Whether or not they wanted their child to have, or make that decision for themselves, the mask choice vote, ultimately we want our education dollars to go to education. We want our kids to have the best education possible. We want to do great things, they're our children, they're the greatest thing that we have." says Kari Williams, President of the Richland School Board.
We will be continuing to look into this story over the coming weeks.