After parent survey, Springfield district officials say school start times will change

A survey of Springfield parents and teachers confirmed what district officials have been hearing for months: This fall's dramatic change in school start times is not working for many families.

Deputy Superintendent John Mulford told the school board Tuesday that based on the survey results, changes will be made.

This year, as part of an overarching plan to expand busing, school start times ranged from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. with dismissal between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

"We need to adjust our model to where our latest start time is no later than 9 a.m. with the goal of targeted 8:50 a.m., which is where we used to be," he said.

Mulford said no start time changes will happen during the current school year. A plan for the 2022-23 start times, which will also factor in bus routes, is expected to go before the school board by March.

"We have to realize that even our previous start times did not work for everybody but it had been that way for so long, people just got used to it and adapted," he said.

The district has long had one of the most restrictive busing policies among peer districts in the state, with only limited access available at the high school level.

No busing was offered for students in magnet schools, creating an obstacle for families who wanted to apply but did not have a way to transport children.

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Nearly a year ago, after years of talking about improving busing, the district restructured its bus routes — moving from two tiers to three tiers — to expand busing for high school and magnet students.

The least expensive way to do that, the district was told by a consultant, was to stagger the start times more deeply.

The start times for all schools had long fallen within a one-hour window — 7:50 to 8:50 a.m. — but the size of the window doubled last year.

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Start times interfere with family time

Parents have repeatedly addressed the school board about the change this year and many have been unhappy with the later start time.

In December, 5,532 parents and school employees responded to a district survey about the start times, which is a high response rate.

A majority, 62 percent, said the current times are not meeting their needs.

Mulford said the highest dissatisfaction was with the latest start time of 9:30 a.m., which was mostly middle and K-8 schools.

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In general, high schools start at 7:30 a.m. and elementary schools start at 8:30 a.m. but there are variations.

Families and school employees dissatisfied with the new start times were asked the No. 1 challenge. This is the breakdown:

• 1,082 — Interferes with family time, after-school activities

• 816 — Start/end times are too early/late for children

• 708 — Times not conducive for working families

• 433 — Creates before/after-school childcare issues

• 392 — Multiple children with multiple start times

Mulford said 74 percent of survey responses were from parents, 17 percent from employees and 9 percent from employees who were also parents of children in the district.

Among that last group, a majority were not happy with the new start times.

"If our start times don't work for our people that work for us, then we are going to lose employees in this job market," he said.

School start times, bus routes linked

Mulford said any change in school start times will require a deeper look at how the bus routes are staggered.

He said reverting to a two-tiered system will likely reduce bus service.

"We would like to maintain the three-tiered system. That is preferred," he said. "So what we are going to attempt to reduce the time between (bus) runs down to 45 minutes."

If that option is viable, the district will still be able to maintain the busing policy adopted for the 2021-22 year.

However, there are other variables, including the district's ability to recruit and maintain enough bus drivers, which has been a challenge in the current job market.

The decision to alter start times was made nearly a year ago before Mulford and new superintendent, Grenita Lathan, were hired.

Several board members noted that despite the logistical issues created by the later start time, the shift this year was made for a reason.

"We had parents come to the board ... and express to us their concern trying to get their littles to school and having to walk through neighborhoods that were not safe and trying to get them there," said board member Denise Fredrick. "And these were heartbreaking stories."

Fredrick said the input ignited a conversation about what steps to take.

"I would just very much hate to see us go back," she said.

Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: SPS deputy superintendent told school board start times will change