It is still not clear how much money the Barrington School Committee has spent to defend its decision to suspend a student from school in 2018. But according to finance documents obtained by the Barrington Times, the Barrington School Department's overall expenditures on legal services has more than tripled in the last four years, increasing from $79,342 in 2016 to more than $261,000 in 2019. 

During an interview on Thursday, Feb. 27, Barrington Schools Superintendent Michael Messore said some of that increase was due to a lengthy negotiation process with the teachers union over the new contract. (Talks between the school committee and teachers union extended beyond the school start date.)

Mr. Messore also referenced other legal matters, which likely included the Barrington School Committee's persistent defense of a student suspension dating back to 2018. 

School officials had suspended the student, who was then an eighth-grader at Barrington Middle School, because he had been discussing the Parkland, Fla. school shooting with some classmates. Another student had overheard the conversation and became concerned; she later told her parents who contacted police. 

But while a police investigation revealed that there was no threat and that the student conversation had been misunderstood, school officials decided to suspend four students who were involved.

Three of the students accepted the suspensions without protest, but one boy and his family objected. They appealed the suspension to the Rhode Island Department of Education commissioner, who later determined that the school district was wrong to suspend the boy. 

The Barrington School Committee appealed that ruling to the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, which also ruled against the school committee.

In Oct. 2019, the school committee filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island Superior Court that named the student and the CESE, again appealing the commissioner's ruling. 

On Jan. 30, the school committee dropped the lawsuit, but refused to tell the public how much money the committee has spent on the case. 

The Barrington Times has filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Attorney General's office, seeking the release of the financial data. 

Legal expenses grow

A four-year comparison of the Barrington Public School Department's legal service expenditures shows increases from 2016 through 2019.

In 2016, the district spent $79,342 on legal services. The total grew to $128,225 in 2017, and that amount grew to $161,559 in 2018. That figure grew to $261,085 in 2019. (The financials for 2020 were not complete, as the fiscal year does not end until June 30.)

In 2019, the cost of legal services exceeded the amount of money earmarked in the school budget by about $140,000.