After hearing pleas from frustrated parents, the board of Barrington Area Unit School District 220 decided to discuss with its teachers union the possibility of changing its COVID-19 plan to reopen sooner.
That will be discussed at a labor-management meeting Nov. 9, followed by a closed school board meeting via Zoom on Nov. 12, board members decided Wednesday night. Virtual learning will continue until at least Nov. 16.
The district in September developed a four-phase reopening plan with five metrics based on public health guidance.
“Those (school districts) who are closed are following public health guidance. Those who are open, are not,” Superintendent Brian Harris said. There also are liability considerations in deciding whether to reopen, he added.
Board members Angela Wilcox, Gavin Newman and Mike Shackleton said they want to move away from the district’s metrics in favor of reopening as soon as possible. Board President Penny Kazmier and board members Sandra Ficke-Bradford, Barry Altshuler and Leah Collister-Lazzari asked for a discussion with the teachers union first.
The district started in-person classes Oct. 19 with a hybrid model, meaning families could choose to continue virtual learning if they wanted. Just a day later, Harris announced a return to all-virtual learning starting Oct. 28, after guidance from the Lake County Health Department regarding increasing COVID-19 cases.
Read more of the Daily Herald report here.
Editorial note: Angela Wilcox and Mike Shackleton are Barrington Hills residents.
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