District 220's new start times will mean more buses, parking

Barrington Area Unit School District 220 has formed a plan on where to park an estimated 25 of the extra school buses that'll be needed when new start times begin in the 2017-18 academic season.

As part of a package of other projects, the District 220 board this week approved setting aside about $50,000 for security and lighting upgrades that might be necessary to park the additional buses at Barrington High School and two other campuses.

"I think it's prudent to keep it (the buses) on site as much as possible," school board member Angela Wilcox said.

District 220 Superintendent Brian Harris said contract provider Barrington Transportation Co., across the street from the high school on South Hager Avenue, only has enough room on its property for a few of the projected 30 extra buses necessitated by the new start times for students.

"We needed to pursue options and we found a basically no-cost option," Harris said. "We may need to have to upgrade some security cameras and stuff like that. And that's not actually a bad thing, anyway."

Last year, the District 220 board ended months of discussion on an effort to boost student learning by agreeing to have the high school and two middle schools start later for the 2017-18 academic season. District 220's elementary school students will begin classes earlier.

District 220 Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Tim Neubauer said he expects about 12 parking spots will be available for the buses at Barrington High. The plan is for the rest of the buses to be spread to Barrington Middle School-Prairie Campus and Roslyn Road Elementary School in Barrington.

Harris said the high school's proximity to the bus company facility would allow the drivers to walk to the high school. He said a shuttle plan likely would be needed to get the drivers from Barrington Transportation to the other campuses.

Officials plan to keep tabs on the bus parking setup after it begins. Harris said there are "community options" if problems develop, particularly in the winter.