Elementary schools: between 7:45 and 8:50 a.m.
Exceptions: 9:45-9:55 for Cypress Woods, Ridgecrest,
Starkey and Walsingham elementaries Bus routes No bus service will be provided for fundamental schools
LARGO - Armed with surveys, petitions and safety concerns, more than 200 people jammed the Pinellas School Board meeting room Tuesday night, waiting hours for a chance to complain about bus schedules that would force many children to start school as late as 10 a.m.
They begged for alternatives, saying the later start would leave little time for homework, recreation and family. They said it would cut back on volunteer hours at schools, conflict with parents' job schedules and hurt small children, who learn best in early morning.
"Just imagine how tired the little 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds would get by the end of the day with a 10 o'clock or 10:10 start time," said 8-year-old Aubrey Cheek, standing on a chair and reading to School Board members from 3-by-5 note cards.
About 1:30 a.m. today, after six hours of testimony, the board voted 5-2 for an option they hadn't seriously considered before, but one that seemed to please the most people:
High schools will start at 7:05 a.m., 15 minutes earlier than the current schedule. Most middle schools will start at 9:45 a.m., instead of the 10 a.m. time proposed. And all but four elementary schools will start between 7:45 a.m. and 8:50 a.m.
The four elementaries - Cypress Woods, Ridgecrest, Starkey and Walsingham - would start between 9:45 and 9:55 a.m. But administrators pledged to try to work one or more of those schools into an early starting time as the routing process continues this summer.
"I still think we need more time to discuss this," said School Board chairwoman Linda Lerner, who voted against the measure. "I think this board is not considering everything completely."
Many parents blamed the scheduling crunch on the school choice plan, which is taxing the bus system with 200 extra routes and 13,000 extra riders.
"You're reneging on my informed choice when you decide to move my start time," said Beverly Klein of Palm Harbor, the parent of a magnet student at Ridgecrest Elementary in Largo, which had a proposed start time of 10 a.m.
Some parents even suggested delaying the choice plan.
"I think choice should be tabled for one year because of a lack of funds to implement it," said Shelly Meadows of Safety Harbor, drawing one of the loudest ovations of the evening.
School district officials acknowledged the difficulties.
"I'd love to stand before you tonight and say that there are lots of magic bullets out there and there are all sorts of magic solutions," Terry Palmer, the district's transportation chief, told the board. "I'm not going to sit here and make up stories just to make people happy."
The board solved part of its problem early in the evening, voting 5-2 on a measure that ended the promise of busing for students at the district's seven fundamental schools, at least for the coming year.
The move freed up 25 buses earmarked for fundamental students and will allow the district to use them on other routes. The district, for example, will be able to give earlier bus rides to about 10 nonfundamental elementary schools that initially were slated to start at 10 a.m. because of the bus schedule.
The vote is expected to save the school district an estimated $750,000 to $900,000 in a tight budget year.
Busing for fundamental schools was part of the federal court settlement with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund that gave rise to the school choice plan. But when it became apparent earlier this month that the fundamentals would have to start at 10 a.m., fundamental parents, who now drive their children to school, protested loudly.
They argued that they never wanted bus service and that a 10 a.m. start time would disrupt their programs.
That prompted schools superintendent Howard Hinesley to suggest the change, which was agreed to by Enrique Escarraz III, the lawyer for the Legal Defense Fund.
Stephanie Everhart, the incoming PTA president at Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary, said a survey of 278 of the school's parents found that 115 families would leave the school if the 8:15 a.m. starting time were moved to 10 a.m.
Only seven families in the survey said they wanted bus service, she said.
Board members Lerner and Mary Russell voted against removing fundamental bus service. Russell said the change was a temporary solution to a larger problem. Lerner said it discriminated against parents who could not afford to drive their children to fundamental schools and violated the district's promise that bus service would be provided.
One of those parents was Dana Sadler of Largo, who kept her son at Coachman Fundamental Middle School in Clearwater because of the promise of bus service. A programmer-analyst who works from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., she pays $200 a month for someone to drop off her son and pick him up from school.
Hinesley said the district would try to accommodate fundamental students who need a ride by organizing carpooling, putting them on a bus bound for a school close to theirs or offering them a spot in another school.
As the School Board tried to set a schedule that would please the most people, it was hampered by a tiered bus system that is common in districts across the nation. In Pinellas, the first tier gets students to school from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. The second tier gets them to school about an hour later. Schools in the third tier are required to start around 10 a.m., which pushes the school day to about 4 p.m.
Many parents called for an end to the three-tiered system, especially the parents of middle schoolers who stood to start school at 10 a.m. under any of the scenarios the board was considering.
"No child should start school before 8 a.m. or end after 4 p.m.; this is ridiculous," said Theresa Gray of Seminole, the parent of two sons in middle and high school. "It's time to look out of the box and trash the three-tier system that doesn't work for anybody."
A more desireable two-tier schedule would get all students to school at earlier times, but requires more buses, drivers and money. Pinellas officials say it simply costs too much.
Find an alternative, demanded parents, some of whom said a later start could lessen their children's chances of earning a Bright Futures scholarship.
All Bright Futures recipients must complete 75 hours of community service. Parents are concerned students will not be able to meet that requirement, get solid grades and participate in extra-curricular activities.
"There's no way they can start at 10 in the morning and be successful IB graduates," said Lauren Bavlsik, whose son will attend Palm Harbor University High School this fall.
High schools: 7:05 a.m.
