A week before the election, Rep. Jason Knight is calling into question Scott Fuller’s attendance record while he served as a member of the Barrington School Committee.

Rep. Knight, a Democrat, and Fuller, a Republican, are running for the District 67 seat in the RI House of Representatives.

Rep. Knight said he researched the meeting minutes from the school committee during Fuller’s tenure and believes that his Republican opponent missed about 25 percent of the meetings. Rep. Knight said his research showed that of the 147 school committee meetings during Fuller’s tenure, he was absent 37 times.

Fuller said that he was proud of his accomplishments and his voting record while he was a member of the Barrington School Committee.

“I sought to keep the annual budget increase to 2.5 percent, led the effort to implement all-day kindergarten, founded the ad-hoc budget forecast committee (now permanent), was a bi-partisan leader who nominated Bob Shea, a Democrat, for the position of vice chair and finally fought against the imposition of the Common Core curriculum,” Fuller said. “My attendance during the first three years on the School Committee was similar to the other members’. In July of my final year however, I transitioned into the role as Principal of Our Lady of Mercy School in East Greenwich and was unable to attend every single meeting.”

Fuller said the requirements of that new job, coupled with family obligations and summer vacation likely resulted in some of his absences during the late spring, summer period of time. Fuller said he reached out to then school committee chairwoman Kate Brody and told her that if she needed him there for a specific vote, he would be there.

“I missed a handful of meetings,” Fuller said. “I was beginning a new job.”

Fuller questioned Rep. Knight’s decision to focus on school committee meeting attendance when, he said, there were other more pressing issues to debate and discuss.

“Mr. Knight seeks to besmirch my service and positive results on the committee while refusing to engage in real dialogue around his own voting record and issues that matter most to our constituents,” Fuller said.