Meeting agenda ignites school start time debate in Barrington

Was it a clerical error, or was it something else?

Some Barrington residents are questioning how Scott Douglas’s name ended up on a school start times meeting agenda at the Statehouse, listed as a representative of the Barrington School Department.

Mr. Douglas is a Barrington resident who has spoken at a number of local school committee meetings but only as a private citizen. (He is a member of the town’s committee on appropriations.)

His wife, Dr. Megan Douglas, is a member of the Barrington School Committee, and both Douglases are vocal proponents of later school start times for middle and high school students.

Mr. Douglas said his name was mis-listed on an agenda for a Dec. 4 hearing by a staffer at the statehouse. Rep. Julie Casimiro, the legislator who submitted a bill to back up start times for middle and high schools across Rhode Island, agreed with Mr. Douglas.

“I know there was some confusion," said Rep. Casimiro. "She (the staffer) thought he (Mr. Douglas) was on the school committee.”

But some residents are challenging that explanation. 

In a letter to this newspaper, Barrington’s TR Rimoshytus wrote, “Mr. and Dr. Douglas are obsessed with later start times. They have proven they will do whatever it takes to push their agenda. I guess if you cannot get this passed at the local level, then try to get it passed at the state level. Do they think it is OK to represent the town because Mrs. Douglas is on the school committee and Mr. Douglas is on the Committee on Appropriations?”

Mr. Douglas contends that some folks — including many who are opposed to bringing later start times to Barrington schools — are simply looking for a conspiracy when there was none. 

“I got an invitation to speak,” he said. “But my name was mis-listed.”

Some folks want to see a conspiracy, when it was just a case of incompetency, added Mr. Douglas.

Mr. Douglas said he initially received an invitation to speak at the hearing from Rep. Casimiro on behalf of the bill she is sponsoring. He replied that he was willing to speak — “They were interested in my perspective,” he said. 

Shortly after confirming that he would testify, he heard from a friend that people were commenting about him and the hearing on Facebook. Mr. Douglas said he does not normally check Facebook, but decided to contact Rep. Casimiro’s office about the situation.

He said she explained the situation as an error by a staff member at the statehouse.

The Dec. 4 meeting was postponed after the error was discovered. Rep. Casimiro added, “Aside from Barrington, most people support it (later start times).” 

There is a clear divide among Barrington residents, and others, when it comes to changing school start times. While some people, such as Dr. and Mr. Douglas, point to the science supporting later start times for middle and high school students, others disagree with making a change. 

Residents, including some local teachers, spoke out against changing school start times at earlier school committee meetings. Some people have also started a website called “Rhode Island Against Changing Times.” The group offers its mission, which states, in part, "Our belief is that start time changes do not mean the same thing for each community. Each town is unique. Through independent education and research, communities can determine whether or not they will benefit from changing the school start time … Many no cost or low cost initiatives should be considered and evaluated first, before implementing a costly and disruptive change in the community."

Mr. Rimoshytus has requested an investigation into the recent situation with the statehouse hearing.

“I am sure the Douglases will say it was clerical a mistake or they didn’t see the agenda prior to East Greenwich and Barrington finding out,” Mr. Rimoshytus wrote.

“They both knew Mr. Douglas was going to go speak on behalf of the school and town. They want the commission to only hear their side of the research. Just like they did here in Barrington through the health and wellness committee.”

In Barrington, a prior school committee had initially planned to implement later start times at the middle school and high school, but eventually voted to delay the implementation of the change. In March, the school committee voted again to delay changing start times, as there was not enough money in the budget to afford the shift. Dr. Douglas voted against approving the proposed budget that did not include funding for the change in school start times.