Pawtucket, RI – May 11: The Governor of Rhode Island Daniel McKee speaks during an afternoon press-conference near the site today as part of United for Infrastructure Week during a press conference in Pawtucket, RI on May 11, 2021. The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank has provided $850,000 in Transit Oriented Development financing towards road and stormwater infrastructure in the Pawtucket – Central Falls Commuter Rail District, now under construction. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
A Rhode Island school committee is pushing back against the governor’s executive order requiring masks in schools, voting to allow “conscientious objections” to the directive.
The Glocester School Committee also voted Monday night to authorize lawyers to explore the legality of Gov. Daniel McKee’s order issued last week that requires students, staff and faculty in the state’s schools to wear face coverings during the upcoming school year, regardless of vaccination status.
The measure is meant to control spread of the coronavirus.
Committee Chair Jon Burlingame said most parents who have spoken out at meetings are not necessarily against masks, they just don’t want to be told what to do.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
“To be forced to do it, I think that bothers some of the townspeople,” he said.
McKee said at a news conference Tuesday he was “not alarmed” and that board members in Glocester are entitled to their opinions. He said he makes decisions based on facts and his duty is to ensure the safety of children, especially those not yet eligible for vaccines.
The school committee also voted to file an Open Meetings Act complaint against the state Council of Elementary and Secondary Education, which voted to require masks, even after being told it did not have the authority to do so.
The board said the council’s vote may have violated the state’s open meetings law because it had not been properly advertised on the meeting agenda.
