Question: Now that a court has determined the school committee violated the Open Meetings Act, fined the district, and ordered it to pay the plaintiffs' court and legal fees, should the district continue its defense of the decision to terminate three unvaccinated teachers, or should it resolve the case and move forward?

Margaret Reid (D) — “I support the vaccine mandate particularly for the safety of immunocompromised children who attend public school and require our best efforts. The Open Meetings Act Violation refers only to inadequate notice given for a meeting and doesn’t indicate a problem with the policy. I believe these are two separate issues.”

TJ Peck (I) — “I am an advocate for Covid vaccinations. I am also an advocate for balanced and reasonable implementation. It is well past time for BPS to resolve and settle the teachers lawsuit. Despite clear legal judgements, the increasingly litigious and unnecessary appeals of BPS have continued to create large legal costs.”

Frazier Bell (I) — “I'm in favor of vaccinations, but after being told they could request exemptions, teachers were then denied requests with very little notice. This is wrong. Time and money have been wasted on yet another lawsuit, fighting for a mandate no other RI district has. Admit the mistake, move on.”

Rudy Seber (D) — “I would not wish the loss of livelihood on anyone. ‘This case is not about whether mandating vaccinations is appropriate.’ - Judge Lanphear. I support either party’s right to appeal and my top priority is to better the means of communication & engagement with our community so this doesn’t happen again.”