District 220 Parents: 9:30 a.m. school start is too late

The first in what will likely be many lengthy school board discussions about Barrington Area Unit School District 220 schools starting later drew around 300 district parents Tuesday night.

Up for discussion were three proposals made by Input 220, an advisory committee, to shift the school day later as a way to improve student health and learning.

Several of the parents who spoke during the meeting said they favored moving the start time later from 7:20 a.m. but opposed moving it as late as 9 or 9:30 a.m.

“Consider options that would move start time back but not as far as is proposed right now,” said David Holtermann, a district parent and a member of Barrington United for Education, which opposes the proposals. “(The organization) believes that the school board must come up with balanced options that will not have these negative impacts.”

Holtermann's comments drew applause from the majority of the crowd. He also said the organization collected around 275 signatures on a petition against the three proposals.

Christie Baustert, parent of two Barrington High students, said she felt the district's teachers were underrepresented in the discussion on start times.

“I keep hearing this nebulous 'teachers are in,' but why aren't they here speaking?” Baustert said. “They are a huge deal. That's part of the reason why our students are doing so well.”

While no Barrington 220 teacher spoke during the hourlong public comment period, Katja Stonebraker, a teacher in Crystal Lake Area High School District 155, said she supported moving the start times later but strongly opposed reducing instructional time by as much as six minutes per period in two of the three proposals.

“It's crazy,” Stonebraker said. “To pull six minutes from class period every day, it is brutally painful.”

Board member Joe Ruffolo received applause from much of the crowd when he expressed remorse that the board might not have enough time to discuss the options the i220 committee eliminated, such as starting the high school day before 8:30 a.m. Ruffolo said he hoped the panel and board would consider options and start times that weren't quite ideal for teenagers' sleep issues.

Before the public comment, members of the committee said the research they consulted indicated sleep deprivation led to an increase of depression, teen suicide, obesity and car crashes.

Jennifer Smith, a co-chairman of the advisory committee, said in an email read during the committee's presentation that she was saddened many in the community are unwilling, because of their concerns over instructional time, to start the school day later, even when they recognize the need for it.

“I contend that if we meet the sleep needs of our children, even if it means that they spend fewer minutes in the classroom, instructional time will actually be enhanced,” said Smith, an instructor at Harper College. “Other communities who have made similar changes note that change is difficult. ... But, if the change is for the right reason, it is worth the discomfort.”

Board President Brian Battle said the board will take their time in deciding on start times and said it will be discussed in many more meetings. The first of those discussions will begin around 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 23, during the board's regularly scheduled committee of the whole meeting.