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North Kingstown school committee appoints law firm to investigate employee complaints after public concerns about teacher absences
Summary
The North Kingstown School Committee voted to appoint the law firm Barton Gilliam to investigate certified employee complaints discussed in executive session after parents and a student said teacher administrative leaves have disrupted learning for roughly 80 students.
The North Kingstown School Committee on Nov. 24 voted to appoint the law firm Barton Gilliam to investigate certified employee complaints that the committee had discussed in executive session.
The decision came after two members of the public urged the committee to consider the impact of recent administrative leaves on students. Parent Harlan Benetti said the teachers who are on administrative leave "hold my daughter accountable" and that his daughter "feels respected and challenged in a healthy way." Benetti asked the district to ensure there are adequate academic and social-emotional supports for the "80 kids or so" affected by the leaves.
Eighth-grade student Dante Maglioli said the absences have made it harder for students to focus and to catch up on work, calling classroom conditions "more wild" and saying, "I feel that there should've been an investigation first" before the teachers were placed on leave.
After public comment, the committee disclosed that no votes had been taken during the executive session and voted, by voice, to seal the executive-session minutes. A member then moved "to appoint the law firm of Barton Gilliam to conduct the investigation as discussed in executive session," the motion was seconded, and the committee approved it by voice vote.
The meeting opened at 4:30 p.m. and began with a reading of the committee's authority to hold executive session under Rhode Island law for discussion of personnel matters and investigative proceedings. Committee members present answered roll call as Erin Earl, Robert Case, Megan Riley, Sherry Kennedy, Jen Vallema and Joshua Verkado.
The committee also corrected public-comment guidance on the record, noting that speakers are allowed five minutes under district policy rather than the three minutes printed on the agenda. The meeting ended after a brief motion to adjourn.
Next steps, as announced at the meeting, are limited to what the committee recorded: the firm Barton Gilliam was appointed to conduct the investigation; the committee sealed the executive-session minutes. The public comments and the committee's appointment of outside counsel do not include additional procedural details or timelines for that investigation in the public record for this meeting.
