By THOMAS C. TOBIN, Times Staff Writer
Published December 4, 2005
Why can't the district just start all schools at an optimal time for everyone, maybe 8 a.m. or 8:30 a.m.?
No large school district in the United States has nearly enough buses or drivers to deliver all of its students in a single wave. The task is usually completed in two or three waves, called "tiers." Typically the most popular tier is the middle one, which gets students to school between 8 and 9 a.m. Given today's budget issues and chronic problems recruiting drivers, getting all students to school at one time would be an extreme luxury.
What would this new bus plan do?
At its most basic, it would reduce the number of bus tiers from 3 to 21/2, mainly by putting middle school students on the same buses as high schoolers. In turn, this would mean most middle schools would start at the same time as high schools.
Is that really a good idea?
Pinellas has a long-running practice of not mixing grade levels on school buses. But school superintendent Clayton Wilcox predicts that changing that practice wouldn't be a problem. He argues that other districts mix age groups on buses without incident. If people are concerned, he said, the district could use the money saved on bus routes to hire adult monitors for some buses.
Why are there so many bus routes in Pinellas?
Because of the choice plan, which gives students more options for attending schools outside their neighborhoods. That means more buses are crisscrossing the county, and they are less full than they might be otherwise. Pinellas has about 740 bus routes, up from 513 before the choice plan started in 2003.
Where did the idea to revisit school start times originate? Why now?
Wilcox initiated a study of the school district's bus route system this summer with an eye toward making it more efficient. Over the past seven years, Pinellas' busing costs have grown nearly twice as fast as the operating budget. In 2003-04, Pinellas spent a larger percentage of its budget on transportation than any other big district in Florida, mainly because of the school choice plan. Costs continue to rise. Start times were a back-burner issue when the study began. But as work progressed, it became apparent the district could save money while also addressing a concern that high school start times are too early. The 7:05 a.m. first bell is the earliest in the Tampa Bay region. Some Pinellas teens are catching school buses at about 5 a.m. and are getting home after 3 p.m.
Who conducted this study?
A company called Laidlaw Planning Solutions, which specializes in computer bus routing. The company is part of Laidlaw Education Services, the nation's largest student transportation firm. Pinellas has paid Laidlaw about $122,000 so far.
School start times aside, what else would change with this plan?
Pinellas school buses make about 3,500 trips every day. Laidlaw has found a way to cut that by about 150 trips, or 4 percent. That translates to less money spent on fuel, maintenance and driver pay. The plan also would make better use of district buses, which run about 60 percent full. Florida doles out bus money to counties based on how full their buses are, so Pinellas would get a bigger state allotment. All told, the savings could total about $500,000.
Is that worth it?
That's what the School Board is wondering. Some see $500,000 as small change for a district with a budget of $1.3-billion. On the other hand, $500,000 can go a long way. It would, for example, cover yearly maintenance costs for about 10 elementary schools. But more than the money, the board is interested in the social impact of the decision - how start times will affect the lives of thousands of Pinellas families.
We hear about research that says start times need to be later because of teenage body clocks. What does this research say?
In the 1980s and 1990s, several scientists began to focus on teen sleep patterns. They found that high school students typically don't feel like sleeping until after 11 p.m. They linked this to melatonin secretions, which cause drowsiness in humans but come later in the evening for teens. Surveys showed 85 percent of 13- to 19-year-olds didn't get the 8.5 hours of sleep their bodies needed because so many school districts begin high school about 7 a.m. The National Sleep Foundation has called for legislation to start high school no earlier than 9 a.m. Researchers say teen "sleep deficits" can cause memory loss, anxiety, depression, impaired performance, social problems and decreased creativity. One study found that drivers 25 and under are involved in more than half of fall-asleep auto accidents. In surveys, teens at high schools with later starting times report getting better grades, and administrators at those schools report a better atmosphere. But there remains no proven, direct link between teen sleep and academic performance.
What about elementary students, who would start school an hour earlier under this plan? Don't they need sleep too?
Yes. A Brown Medical School study released last month found that younger students who get fewer than 8 hours of sleep have trouble paying attention, recalling old material and learning new lessons. The study was the first to ask teachers about the effects of sleep loss on students. After a 2004 survey commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation, the foundation concluded that children do not get enough sleep. It called on adults to take heed. The foundation focused on improving sleep habits at home rather than changing school start times.
