The Jefferson County Board of Education voted on Tuesday, May 7, to change the start times for over 40 schools for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS).
The staggered start times of elementary, middle and high schools across the county move the nine start times for schools down to three, which are 7:30 a.m., 8:40 a.m., and 9:40 a.m.
The board weighed two different options for start times at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, one that would change start times for over 40 schools, which eventually passed, and another that would change school start times for around 80 schools, which failed.
The first motion to change the start times for over 40 schools failed in its first vote, but eventually passed 4-3. Voting changed when an addendum was added to the motion to review the start times on Dec. 1.
Start times for schools became a greater topic of discussion for the board of education as JCPS has sought new options for how to deal with its bus shortage for students. According to Marty Polio, the superintendent of JCPS, the district currently has 550 bus drivers with 560 bus routes, plus an average of 52 absent drivers daily.
Dr. Michael Newman, the principal of duPont Manual High School, said at the board meeting that the decision to change start times would affect “some more than others.”
“I give grave caution to the myriad of new complications (the vote) will now bring,” he said. “Not only for duPont Manual alone, but for our community as a whole.”
