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Input 220 panel recommends Barrington High start at 9 a.m. or later

After around a year of research, an advisory panel tasked with studying whether Barrington Area Unit School District 220 students would benefit by starting their school day later has determined that they would and will present three options to the school board next week.

The advisory council, made up of community members, finished its final meeting Tuesday night by voting on which of four final plans it should present. Three plans that received at least 60 percent of votes from the 28-member body will be submitted to the board.

Ron Metcalf, the president of the district teachers union and an Input 220 council member, said he joined the committee last year with the notion that everything in the district was fine and there were too many barriers to changing the start times, but his opinion changed as the committee learned more about the benefits.

"I heard right away the importance of the change needed," Metcalf said.

The committee found that the research showed moving high school start times to later in the morning has led to higher grades and test scores, a significant reduction in teenage car accidents and fewer instances of mental health issues and substance abuse.

Each of the options presented by the committee would reduce the amount of time Barrington High students spend in class, something that some parents voiced their concern about before the meeting.

Christine Bedard, the parent of a Barrington High student, said parents and students don't want the high school day to start later than 8:30 a.m. and don't want students to have their instructional time reduced. Bedard said she was a founding member of an group called Barrington United for Education that is opposed to the committee's proposals.

The opposition group is having an open house at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lagendorf Park District multipurpose room A/B, at 235 Lions Drive in Barrington.

The committee's three options will be presented to the school board at the Feb. 16 meeting in the Barrington High cafeteria. The board could discuss the options at the meeting but will not vote on them that night.

District 220 schedule options

Here is a summary of the three options that the Input 220 advisory committee will recommend to the Barrington Area Unit School District 220 board next week. All three options would set the elementary school day from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. and the middle school day from 8:50 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The only differences among the plans are at the high school level.

<b>Option D </b>School day: 9 a.m. to 3:18 p.m.

Cost: About $841,000 more in annual transportation fees for additional bus routes, vehicles and drivers.

Class periods: Would be cut from 49 minutes to 43 minutes.

<b>Option E</b>School day: 9:30 a.m. to 3:48 p.m.

Cost: About $58,000 more in annual transportation fees because some drivers would have to work longer days.

Class periods: Would be cut to 43 minutes.

<b>Option H</b>School day: 9 a.m. to 3:52 p.m.

Cost: About $845,000 more in annual transportation fees for additional bus routes, vehicles and drivers.

Class periods: Would be cut to 47 minutes.

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