The Barrington School Committee has settled with the three teachers who were fired after they failed to follow the district’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

The district announced the settlement in a press release on Thursday afternoon, May 11.

As part of the settlement, the three teachers — Brittany DiOrio, Stephanie Hines and Kerri Thurber — have been offered their jobs back.

“The three teachers have the opportunity to return to teaching positions within the Barrington School District should they choose to do so, at the steps they would have been at had they worked continuously,” stated the release. 

The Barrington School District will also extend a payment to DiOrio, Thurber and Hines — each will receive $33,333. In addition, the teachers will receive backpay. Hines will receive $65,000, Thurber will receive $128,000 and DiOrio will receive $150,000.

“In coordination with our legal counsel and Superintendent, we determined this ongoing, expensive litigation would likely continue for a lengthy period of time, and a resolution should be reached,” stated the School Committee’s press release. “We believe our administration’s time, and our district’s financial resources, should be spent on the daily work and mission of Barrington Public Schools…”

As part of the settlement, the district will also pay $50,000 to the teachers’ lawyer, Greg Piccirilli, for attorney fees. 

Piccirilli said the settlement was a vindication for his clients. 

“This is immensely gratifying,” Piccirilli said, in an interview Thursday afternoon. “They (his clients) have been proven right. They’ve been vindicated. Their position was right and the (School) Committee has paid a price for it.”

Piccirilli would not comment on whether his clients would be returning to their teaching positions in Barrington Schools. 

“They are officially reinstated,” Piccirilli said. “They’ve been made whole.

“It’s very gratifying getting some relief. It’s satisfying.”

Piccirilli said the nearly two-year-long ordeal has been difficult for his clients. He said their faith helped them press on throughout the lengthy process. Piccirilli added that it was their faith that had been involved from the very beginning — all three teachers had filed religious exemption requests to the vaccine mandate, but the superintendent had denied the requests. 

“They all have tremendous faith,” Piccirilli said. “It all started with their faith. They found their strength in their faith.”

He added: “They were the easiest clients to represent. They are genuinely some of the nicest people I have ever met… They’re all really good people, so I felt really proud representing them.”