JCPS board votes to alter start times of nearly 50 schools
After initially failing, Jefferson County Board of Education members voted Tuesday in favor of the first bell schedule scenario provided by district leaders, which moves the start times of nearly 50 schools.
Starting in August, all schools will start at 7:30, 8:40 or 9:40 a.m. — rather than operating under the current system of nine different start times. Board members were asked to choose between two scenarios that would achieve this — the first causing less change to the current system but not providing as much efficiency as the second scenario, according to district leaders.
When initially asked to vote on Scenario 1, only two board members - James Craig and Linda Duncan - supported it. After the failed vote, Craig proposed a motion to vote to approve Scenario 1, but with the caveat that the district revisits start times and presents another plan to the board by December. This garnered the support of two more board members — Sarah McIntosh and Joe Marshall — giving the scenario the four votes needed to pass.
The second scenario was never voted on because no board member would propose a motion to have a vote.
Several school principals from all levels attended the board meeting and spoke out against the various options that have been discussed. While the district has only publicly discussed two scenarios, middle and high school principals urged board members not to choose a third scenario they said they had just learned about during a virtual meeting.
There was considerable confusion regarding the third option — which would have shifted more elementary schools into the earliest time slot and more middle and high schools into the latter two. Records obtained by The Courier Journal show principals at Southern and Atherton high schools sent emails to families shortly before the meeting discussing this scenario and why it would be bad for their schools.
News of this potential scenario wasn't shared with the leaders until two hours before the board met to vote. Chief of Schools Robert Moore called the meeting with the principals at 4 p.m., according to JCPS spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan.
Manual High Principal Michael Newman and Echo Trail Middle Principal Kari Ammerman, among others, came to the meeting to express their opposition to the third scenario they'd just been informed of.
Despite that meeting, Superintendent Marty Pollio said a third scenario doesn't exist.
"It's not an official option," Callahan said about why Pollio would say the option didn't exist after Moore discussed it in a meeting. "We've been asked by the community and elementary principals if it's possible to have elementary schools at the earlier start times and board members wanted that explored. We did not want middle and high principals to hear that first at the board meeting out of nowhere."
While upper school principals were opposed to the third scenario, elementary principals spoke out against Scenario 1 and 2, because both put nearly 60 elementary schools into the 9:40 a.m. time slot.
“We are collectively in agreement that these two options blatantly disregard previous discussions about moving all middle and high schools to a later start time,” said Courtney Grace, principal of Hazelwood Elementary.
The two groups sat on opposite sides of the aisle during the meeting, clapping only for administrators from their side voicing support for their viewpoint.
This scenario chosen will fix "major pain points" in the current transportation system and increase the rate of students getting to and from school on time, according to district leaders.
This plan, though, is not geographically based and will cause driver fatigue, according to the district.
This is problematic because JCPS is already struggling with a driver shortage and many current drivers are nearing retirement age.
Additionally, next year only 20% to 30% of routes would be mirrored — meaning students ride the same bus with the same driver in the morning and afternoon.
Students who ride buses are still expected to miss class instruction and be stuck at school late under this new plan. When board members voted to end magnet busing, they kept two magnet high schools on the roster — Central and Western. With that choice, Pollio said about five million minutes of instruction will be lost next year due to late buses.
This year, students are expected to miss twice as much. When recommending the end to magnet busing, Pollio said not doing so would result in 17 million minutes of lost instruction. Despite the ending of most magnet transportation resulting in about 15,000 fewer bus riders, district leaders still said not altering start time schedules by one of the two presented scenarios would result in that 17 million minute figure.
Schools currently starting at 7:40 a.m. that are not listed below will move up to the 7:30 a.m. start time. All other schools with new start times are listed below.
Schools with a 7:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. schedule:
Elementary
Auburndale
Camp Taylor
Norton
Sanders
Wilkerson
Wilder
Middle
Knight
Lassiter
Minor Daniels
Moore
Ramsey
High
Breckenridge Metro
Western Magnet
Specialty
Newcomer Academy
TAPP
The Phoenix School of Discovery
Schools with an 8:40 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. schedule:
Elementary
Audubon
Brandeis
Carter Traditional
Coleridge-Taylor Montessori
Foster Traditional Academy
Greathouse/Shryock
Hawthorne
Lincoln
Schaffner Traditional
Stopher
Young
Specialty
Waller-Williams Environmental
Schools with a 9:40 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. schedule:
Elementary
Bates
Blue Lick
Chenoweth
Coral Ridge
Dunn
Eisenhower
Field
Greenwood
Hartstern
Johnsontown Road
Kenwood
Kerrick
Laukhuf
Luhr
Middletown
Norton Commons
Portland
Rangeland
Shacklette
Smyrna Traditional
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS board votes to alter start times of nearly 50 schools
