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Daily Herald Letter to the Editor
Barrington residents and students have asked District 220 for years to address the parking shortage at Barrington High School. The community has been clear: we need more parking, but we need a solution that makes sense.
Unfortunately, the school board’s current proposal defies logic.
The board has refused to consider a viable option that would create 216 parking spots at a cost of roughly $18,518 per stall. Instead, they are choosing to spend nearly $50,000 per stall to build just 40 spots by demolishing homes on North Hager Avenue and Main Street.
Why would the District choose to pay 2.5 times more for significantly less parking?
This proposal is not just fiscally irresponsible; it is destructive. It needlessly tears down attainable homes, uproots residents and erodes the historic character of Walnut Grove. School officials confirmed at the Dec. 2 board Meeting that cash reserves are available for the larger parking solution. There is no financial excuse for choosing the destructive path over the efficient one.
Barrington values thoughtful planning and stewardship. Tearing down historic homes for a small, overpriced parking lot undermines those values.
District 220 still has time to change course. We urge the board to listen to the more than 400 residents who have signed our petition. Choose the plan that expands parking meaningfully and uses taxpayer dollars responsibly — don’t destroy a neighborhood for 40 parking spots.
Margaret Van Duch
Barrington
Related: “Zoning change defies village policy,” “Paving paradise?: Historic Barrington neighborhood opposes District 220’s plan to buy land for parking”
Juniors parking at school is not a necessity – even seniors can take a school bus, it’s a luxury to park on campus. Many students have access to perfectly good school transportation for free. My tax bill went up considerably this year and my children who were at the high school at the time of the recent structural changes found them detrimental as the study areas were reduced.
Dear Distr 220- use the “cash reserves” to DECREASE my property tax. Don’t purchase village residential property to turn into parking………….that makes no sense! Decreasing my property tax makes sense.
Couldn’t agree more. Stop the silly parking lot plan. How about decreasing property taxes instead by choosing the more common sense plan.
When residents raise safety issues — silence.
When residents raise ethics issues — deflection.
When residents raise spending issues — no corrective action or acknowledgment.
When residents raise neighborhood concerns — they are told stories from 1999.
But when the district wants more taxes?
Suddenly conversation becomes urgent.
This dynamic speaks for itself.
A Community Willing to Invest — But Only in Leadership That Invests in Us
Barrington residents value education.
We value our schools.
We value our teachers.
But investment requires trust — and trust must be earned through humility, responsiveness, transparency, and accountability.
Right now, the district is asking for more money while:
avoiding difficult conversations,
dismissing legitimate community concerns,
overlooking internal issues,
and falling short of its own values.
Barrington 220 speaks often about transparency, collaboration, and respect.
It’s time for those principles to move from slogans into practice.
This Board is in place because of the failure of residents to come out and vote. The complacency on Election Day is costing us in our pocket book. Local elections matter. Start paying attention. There is only one fiscally responsible board member. The rest will pander to the liberal left, so play those cards if you want to have any chance to save your houses. And if you want to stop the bullshit, vote in the next election for fiscally responsible candidates, instead of the woke agenda.