More than 350 people have signed an online petition for a "No Confidence" vote against the current Barrington School Committee.

Barrington resident Dr. Lisa Daft created the online petition, which stems from the school committee's decision to proceed with the school start time changes. 

The petition, which had 354 signatures by Friday morning, states "We the parents, students, teachers and taxpayers of Barrington RI no longer have confidence that our school committee has the ability to rationally evaluate the later school start time initiative. They have refused to listen to the majority of stakeholders who oppose this. Their spending is at an all time high and this initiative which may cost more that the proposed 246k will be a budget buster in future years. It is time to to say 'We have no confidence in this policy making committee'."

The online petition went live about a week ago and quickly gained the signatures of dozens of Barrington residents. Former Hampden Meadows School Principal Arlene Miguel also signed the petition, and added a brief comment "This proposed change is in no one's best interest, especially the children."

Members of the current school committee have stated the opposite, promoting the upcoming start time changes as a student-centric move that is aimed at improving the physical, social-emotional and educational well-being of students. School committee members have mentioned time and again that later school start times for older students have been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The school district and school committee also held a special forum in late April focused on the start time changes. 

Dr. Megan Douglas, the chairwoman of the Barrington School Committee, said she has heard about the online petition. She added that the petition has not yet been submitted to the school committee, so she did not have an official response to it. 

"I will say that we were all elected in open elections with clear position statements. Our primary responsibility is to the students and the schools, following guidance from the Superintendent and basing decisions on data and best practice," Dr. Douglas wrote in a recent email.  

"I know that not everyone agrees with all of our decisions, but we have listened to and heard all sides. We are constrained in our interactions in many ways by the Open Meeting Laws and the structure of school governance, but we have recently changed our meeting styles to increase participation and two-way dialogue, and we are always accessible by email. For the most part, the work sessions have been a great opportunity for meaningful conversation regarding the listed topics, and we're hopeful more interested residents may want to attend one of those in the future."

In a recent email, Dr. Daft asked people to follow a few steps to voice their opposition to the upcoming start time changes. The first step was to sign the online petition.

"While this isn't a legal action, it is a statement that you feel the SC (school committee) is not capable of making decisions that benefit 'All Students'," wrote Dr. Daft.

She also asked people to attend the May 22 financial town meeting in Barrington and vote to support a $246,000 reduction to the proposed school budget increase. She wrote that the amendment vote should be seen as a motion against start time changes.

"The SC (school committee) will send out their usual threat that they will cut teacher positions and sports. This is a scare tactic. Remember they have a 52 million dollar budget. I am sure they can find $250,000 without cutting teachers and sports," she wrote. 

"However, if they choose to cut teachers and sports over buses that is their decision. It is time to get our vote on SST (school start time) and prove that the majority in this town do not want this initiative and its hefty price tag."

Finally, Dr. Daft asked that people stay until the very end of the financial town meeting when there will be an election for three open seats on the Committee on Appropriations, which is the board that reviews the budget each year.

Dr. Daft is running for one of the open COA seats.

School schedules

Barrington Public Schools plan to change start and dismissal times for all local schools at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.

Current school schedules

K-3 (Nayatt, Primrose Hill and Sowams): 8:15 a.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Hampden Meadows: 8:50 a.m. – 3:25 p.m.

Middle School: 7:45 a.m. – 2:05 p.m.

High School: 7:40 a.m. – 2:16 p.m.

Tentative upcoming schedule

K-3 (Nayatt, Primrose Hill and Sowams): 7:50 a.m. – 2:20/2:25 p.m.

Hampden Meadows: 8 a.m. – 2:30/2:35 p.m.

Middle School: 8:30 a.m. – 3/3:05 p.m.

High School: 8:40 a.m. – 3:10/3:15 p.m.