April 3, 2024

Data reveals strong community support for Barrington 220

At the April 2 Barrington 220 Board of Education meeting, the Board heard an update on results from the stakeholder feedback collected in February and March regarding a potential referendum question on the November 2024 election ballot. The Board and district leaders collected community feedback on 10 potential projects and three potential funding levels. The feedback was collected through the following methods:

• Referendum Advisory Committee Meeting #1
• Three in-person Community Engagement Meetings
• One virtual Community Engagement Meeting
• Community Phone Survey
• Digital Feedback Survey

The scientific phone survey conducted in March had 525 responses, which were modeled to represent all demographic groups across the community. The data shows strong community support for the school district, with a net favorability rating of 71%. Other key findings include:

• Out of the 10 potential projects, the top two priorities for the community are safety and security projects and a new BHS auditorium. 
• 72% of the community supports one of the three funding levels. The level with the most support is the medium funding level.

The data provides the Board and district leaders with a strong understanding of where the community stands on the potential projects and funding levels. Based on the data, district leaders will refine the list of projects and funding levels. In late April/May, there will be an additional round of feedback from the community, and the Referendum Advisory Committee on that refined list. The Referendum Advisory Committee will meet on May 20 to review the feedback to present a recommendation to the Board in June.

• Click here to view the data presentation.
• Click here to listen to the presentation at the Board meeting.

At the April 2 Board meeting, the Board approved Quest Food Management Services as the new food service provider for students in grades K-8. Using Quest will improve the K-8 meal experience, aligning with the district's commitment to overall student experience and well-being. Barrington High School has used Quest as its food service provider since the 2019-20 school year.

The district's five-year K-8 contract with Sodexo expires at the end of this school year. As required by the state, the district's food service contract must go out to bid every five years. The K-8 food service program will continue to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and private non-profit schools.

At the April 2 Board meeting, the Board approved meal prices for students in grades K-8 for the 2024-25 school year. The lunch price will increase by 30 cents from $3.15 to $3.45. The breakfast price will increase by 20 cents from $1.60 to $1.80. Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program are required to ensure that sufficient funds are provided to the school food service account for meals served to students not eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The increase will ensure that the district complies with this requirement.

17 BHS students named National Merit Scholars

In his Superintendent's Report at the April 2 Board meeting, Dr. Winkelman congratulated 17 BHS students named 2024 National Merit Scholars. Congrats to Daniel Devadas, Paari Dhanasekaran, Sravya Dontharaju, Neha Doppalapudi, Sri Sai Gollamudi, Melissa Guo, Tara Gutzmer, Preyansh Jain, Rohan Kher, Sophia Kostov, Aaron Liu, Riya Perla, Jainik Shroff, Ovia Sundar, Madeleine Yoon, Charles Young, and Anthony Zhu!

In his Superintendent's Report at the April 2 Board meeting, Dr. Winkelman highlighted some of the work being done this school year as part of the district's strategic plan, Framework 220. The plan includes six strategic priorities for the district.

One of the objectives under the Personalized Learning priority is Early Childhood & Kindergarten Opportunities. The district is excited to implement this objective in August by offering free full-day kindergarten across all Barrington 220 elementary schools. Full-day kindergarten will extend core instruction (math, science, literacy, etc.) throughout the school day and eliminate the district's fee-based Kindergarten Enrichment Program.

In addition, the district is also launching a free full-day kindergarten lab program at Barrington High School. This innovative program known as the K-Lab will provide unique learning opportunities to students, thanks to its location at BHS. The program will consist of two kindergarten classrooms inside BHS. The spaces will be renovated this summer. Click here to view the design concept.

One of the objectives under the Stewardship priority is a Fine Arts Center. This objective included creating a plan for improving the high school’s fine, visual, and performing arts facilities. It was completed this fall when the district worked with DLA Architects to develop options for the Board of Education. Currently, the district is in the middle of a 6-month referendum community engagement process to hear feedback about options for fine arts spaces at BHS, and other projects across the district.

In his Superintendent's Report at the April 2 Board meeting, Dr. Winkelman shared that the district is rolling out a new VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone system. The new system will add safety and security features being implemented with the Build 220 initiative. These features are not possible with the district's current analog phone system. The VOIP system has already been implemented at BHS and will be rolled out one school building at a time.

At the April 2 Board meeting, the Board said goodbye to BHS Senior Melissa Guo, who served as the BHS Student Council Board Liaison for the 2023-24 school year. The role of the Student Council Board Liaison is to provide high school updates to the Board of Education at meetings. Melissa will attend UCLA next school year, where she plans to study computer science.