Letter: Why was there no start time task force in Barrington?

Posted 3/8/16

To the editor:

I would like to share a quote from the health and wellness committee meeting of Sept. 10, 2014.

The superintendent “explains that the start time was in the strategic plan for year 4. This is year 3, but since All …

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Letter: Why was there no start time task force in Barrington?

Posted
To the editor: I would like to share a quote from the health and wellness committee meeting of Sept. 10, 2014. The superintendent “explains that the start time was in the strategic plan for year 4. This is year 3, but since All Day K has been implemented, we can probably begin this work now. He thinks we need to recommend the establishment of a task force for start time to the school committee. Health and wellness can provide research recommendations, but he needs to establish a task force that includes all of the voices that are needed." This is the first time a formal recommendation to move forward with changing the start time was made. My question to school committee members is "Why didn't the task force happen?" In the past, our school board has formed subcommittees for All Day K and the middle school building project. Changing the school start times affects all students, teachers, parents and taxpayers. Doesn't something this significant deserve a representative subcommittee to help develop a new start time proposal? Having an inclusive task force is how most communities developed a new start time policy that was well supported by all stakeholders. Why did this school committee veer from their own past practice? This new initiative comes with a hefty price tag and does not account for unforeseen expenses. For instance there may be extra bussing costs for JV teams that will need to play separate matches at additional times because not all opponents have lighted fields. These matches will be played as long as the other schools can accommodate our JV teams on another day. Also, there may be a need to add lighting to our own fields which would come at no small expense. The school committee is proposing a 2.67 percent budget increase. Unfortunately, the proposed budget did not include the requests of our building principals to add interventionists/support coaches that would help all students and work to close gaps for many of our struggling students. Additionally, there will be a significant tax burden for the new middle school project. How deep are the taxpayers’ pockets? As a taxpayer and parent I would like to see more for my money than providing a shorter bus ride for students (btw — only 19 percent of bussed students are currently on the bus longer than 30 minutes, this is 5 out of 26 bus routes) and giving a small percentage of students more sleep. Providing students more sleep could be accomplished in other ways. Alternatives should be explored to help those students with longer bus rides. An inclusive task force should have been created, as the superintendent suggested, to explore other avenues that looked beyond changing the school start time and could have helped develop a plan that would have less obstacles to overcome. In 2014, the Children's National Medical Center studied 38 schools across the country that had changed their start times. Only 50 percent of those schools moved to a start time later than 8:30. None of those schools were in New England. Barrington students are not unique, but Barrington, RI is. One size does not fit all. Our school committee has failed to consider all factors when voting on a start time of 8:30. Moreover, school committee past practice was not followed during this process. It's now time to take the blinders off, place personal agendas aside and assemble the inclusive task force this initiative deserves. If you agree that we cannot tolerate irresponsible politics then consider having your voice heard by emailing your school committee members, signing the petition found on change.org  and being present at the next school committee meeting on March 10. Dr. Lisa Daft Barrington

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