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Parent urges Barrington 220 to oppose Plum Farms data center rezoning near Barbara Rose Elementary
Summary
At the June 16 board meeting, parent Amanda Pollard asked the district to send a formal letter opposing a proposed 186‑acre Plum Farms data center rezoning in Hoffman Estates, citing proximity to Barbara Rose Elementary, diesel generator emissions, and noise; the board said staff would gather information and follow up before the July 6 village vote.
Amanda Pollard, a Barrington 220 parent and Barrington Hills resident, urged the Barrington CUSD 220 Board of Education on June 16 to send a formal letter opposing the proposed Plum Farms rezoning of 186 acres at Route 59 and Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates for a data center campus.
"Barbara Rose Elementary sits less than half a mile from this site," Pollard said, and she told the board she had asked the district for a formal objection after receiving no written response. Pollard described typical data‑center operations — 24/7 industrial cooling fans and banks of diesel backup generators — and cited air‑quality and noise concerns for children and students with asthma, saying the EPA classifies diesel exhaust as a human carcinogen and that chronic environmental noise has been linked to learning disruption.
Pollard told the board the Hoffman Estates Planning & Zoning Commission had already voted 4–2 to recommend denial of the rezoning and noted the proposal would go to the Hoffman Estates Village Board for a final vote on July 6. She said neighboring municipalities including Barrington Hills and South Barrington had formally opposed the project and asked Barrington 220 to do the same.
Board members did not take formal action at the meeting. The presiding officer asked district staff to gather information and to include the matter in the weekly board materials so the board could consider formal direction at a future meeting; the district administrator said he would contact Pollard directly to follow up.
No formal legal action or letters had been submitted by the district at the time of the meeting; Pollard urged the board to act before the July 6 village vote.
