A Rhode Island school district has proposed charging a mother $117,132 to review a teacher’s curriculum and emails following controversial remarks about Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was assassinated. The teacher, Benjamin Fillo, made disparaging comments about Kirk following the public assassination, sparking public outcry. The mother, Nicole Solas, has argued the fee is exorbitant and has demanded the school district waive the cost, asserting that the materials are already paid for by taxpayers.
Fillo, a social studies teacher at Barrington High School, posted a video online shortly after Kirk’s assassination in September 2024, where he called Kirk ‘a piece of garbage’ and criticized his views on LGBTQ rights and women’s rights. The video led to Fillo being placed on administrative leave by his school district. The school district’s law firm, Henneous Carroll Lombardo LLC, has cited the extensive volume of emails and materials requested by Solas as the reason for the high fee, with the curriculum materials alone costing $116,033.
Solas, who is a mother living in a different school district, has long been involved in public records requests regarding political indoctrination in schools. She claims the high fee is a deliberate attempt to stonewall parents and prevent transparency. She has stated that the school district’s refusal to provide the materials for free may lead to legal action. Other parents and community members have also expressed concern, with some calling for accountability and transparency in the curriculum and teaching materials used in schools.
Parents have raised concerns about the implications of allowing teachers to make such inflammatory remarks, particularly in the context of teaching young students. Heather Ryan, a parent with a ninth grader at Barrington High School, described the situation as disturbing. ‘As a parent and Turning Point USA Action RI member, my family and I find it disturbing that a man is permitted to politically indoctrinate children and celebrate political assassinations of people that he disagrees with. No Christian family of any partisan ideology should feel comfortable with Ben Fillo teaching their child behind closed doors,’ Ryan said.
Kiela Daley, a mother with five children, including three in Barrington schools, emphasized the importance of transparency. ‘Transparency in the classroom is essential for maintaining trust between educators and families,’ Daley stated. ‘Our district’s curriculum is broad online, but it does not reveal the specific materials used… that shape our children’s minds. Parents have the right to see what is being taught without having to pay an astronomical fee to disclose that information.’
The case has sparked wider discussions about the role of teachers in shaping students’ views, the use of public records requests to challenge educational content, and the potential financial and legal consequences of such requests. Fillo and the school district have not yet commented on the matter, but the ongoing controversy has drawn attention from both local and national media outlets. The situation underscores the growing sensitivity around political speech in educational settings and the increasing scrutiny of teachers’ actions in public schools.