It's official: Barrington schools' start times will not change next year

Barrington school officials are shelving the start time change initiative.

At a meeting on Thursday night, April 27, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore recommended that the school committee not implement the school start time changes. He said next year's school schedules should remain the same as this year's.

Committee cuts $1.2M increase to schools. 

After some discussion, the committee voted 3-1 to keep the current start times for all six public schools.

That vote punctuated a long-running and hotly-debated issue in town. 

More than a year ago, school officials approved pushing back the start times at the middle school and high school, from about 7:45 to 8:30. (Some officials initially aimed for 9 a.m. start time.) The later start times were based heavily upon the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as a student survey that had been conducted in Barrington.

But the move to later start times took a hit last spring, when the school committee voted 3-2 in favor of delaying the implementation of the changes for another year. The reason: Officials said they wanted to further study how to best enact the time changes at the school.

Since that vote, school officials, students and parents of students have continued the discussion, often at school committee meetings. Sometimes the talks focused on how to reduce student stress while striking a balance with after-school programs.

Other times it shifted to student transportation. 

Officials said the later start times, in conjunction with the push for shorter run times, would require more buses. Each additional bus was expected to cost the district about $55,000. As this year's budget discussion continued, officials appeared to grow more concerned with the increasing costs. 

At a meeting on March 6, officials voted on a proposed school budget that did not include funding earmarked for the start time change. "Basically we can't afford the $307,000 (start time) initiative," said Barrington School Committee Chairwoman Kate Brody during the meeting. She said she still supported the initiative but added that the schools could not afford the change.

Last week, the town's committee on appropriations, which reviews the municipal, school and capital budgets, called for no increase to the school department budget. School officials had requested a $1.2 million increase over the current budget; the money was slated to cover contractual obligations, current programs, and state and federal mandates.

Mr. Messore said the loss of the $1.2 million would have an impact on programs and staffing at the schools. He also said the financial shortfall had forced his hand in regards to the start time change. He said the district would not be able to afford the initiative.

Dr. Megan Douglas, a proponent of later start times at the high school and middle school, voted against the motion to keep the current start time schedule in place. She said there were school departments across the country that were facing budget cuts, but still implementing later start times for high school and middle school students. 

Dr. Douglas said scientific research had shown that later school start times for high school and middle school students yielded direct benefits for those students.

Mr. Messore said everyone was aware of the science behind the later start times, but added that other factors were in play. It has been reported that implementing the start time changes without adding more buses would impact the schedules for the other public schools, pushing dismissal time for Hampden Meadows School until after 4 p.m.

"None of us are ignorant to the science behind start times," Mr. Messore said. "Everyone knows it's important for students to arrive at a reasonable hour and leave at a reasonable hour, and we have to look at both ends of that in our study."

Mr. Messore also said he hoped for the start time change to be embedded in the district's future strategic plan. He said it was important to make sure the changes are sustainable within the budget.

Ms. Brody later read a statement about the start time change initiative. She thanked the members of the ad hoc committee who worked on the start time issue and referenced the changes that have taken place since officials earlier approved the start time changes.

Anna Clancy made the motion to keep the school start times the same next year, and motion passed 3-1. School committee member John Alessandro was not at the meeting.