Police and school officials are investigating after a fake email was sent out to parents claiming class was canceled at schools in the Barrington area due to weather.
The Barrington School District 220 sent out an email to parents on Monday saying that in-person classes would be held on Tuesday, January 21, despite the severe cold weather.
Around 10:15 p.m. that evening, parents received another email saying, “Attention Barrington Parents, This is an update to our email from earlier today: Barrington 220 will now be closed Tuesday, January 21st due to cold weather conditions. Enjoy the day off and stay warm!”
The email was listed as being sent by Barrington School District 220.
The district then sent out an email to parents saying that the email about schools being closed, which was sent out to “many Barrington 220 families,” was false and that schools would indeed remain open on Tuesday.
The school district said the fake email was sent by someone posing as the district; however, the district later canceled in-person classes on Tuesday morning.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Craig Winkelman sent a letter to the school community about the situation.
“I sincerely apologize for the delayed delivery of our district communications this morning, and acknowledge the inconvenience caused by the decision to shift to e-learning,” Winkelman said.
“We fell short of our own expectations in this instance, and are examining our procedures to ensure future communications are distributed in a timely and effective manner,” Winkelman said.
The superintendent said the last-minute switch to e-learning and cancelation of in-person classes came after the National Weather Service upgraded the area from a “Cold Weather Advisory” to an “Extreme Cold Warning” overnight.
“Messages communicating this shift were sent via the district’s Infinite Campus system. Unfortunately, Infinite Campus experienced nationwide delivery issues, and many Barrington 220 parents and guardians did not receive the messages or received them much later than intended,” Winkelman said.
“I know this caused significant confusion and complicated the morning for many, and again I take responsibility and am sorry that this occurred,” he said.
The superintendent also said that the fake message sent late Monday evening from “outside the district” caused further questions for the community.
“We are presently investigating this matter in conjunction with the Barrington Police Department,” Winkelman said.