The Pasco County School Board has adopted a new schedule for school starting and ending times, effective in January.
The board unanimously approved the shift, during its Nov. 2 meeting, knowing that the new scheduling will disrupt virtually every school and student throughout the district.
They said a shortage of bus drivers forced their hand.
Board members and Superintendent Kurt Browning said other options were explored, but, in the end, none of them could ensure the on-time arrival of students to school.
“We are, and have been, very concerned about the loss of instructional time for our students,” Browning said. “We have had numbers of our students coming to our schools upwards of an hour late.
“We are somewhat in a desperate place to ensure that we can fill the gap for those 60 to 65 drivers that we do not have,” Browning added.
“There’s nobody in this district that likes this plan, including the superintendent. I don’t like it. I don’t like anything about it,” he added.
However, he noted, having students arrive late is not appealing, either.
The district has been flooded with suggestions for how to solve the problem.
It has tried different strategies, but all of them fell short, according to Betsy Kuhn, an assistant superintendent who oversees the district’s transportation departments.
People suggested the district ask parents to drive students to school.
The district did.
The response was too small to reroute buses and take any off the road, Kuhn said.
Some recommended the district charge bus riders.
It can’t because it has a state obligation to transport students living two miles or more from school, Kuhn added.
Some said the answer is higher pay for drivers.
“I’ve gotten lots of emails (in which) people say, ‘If you just pay $20 an hour, this will all go away,’” Kuhn said.
She supports a pay raise for bus drivers, but said, “we know, from looking at other districts and from looking around the country, that pay alone does not solve this problem.
“While we do want to do that, and hope it is something we can do in the very near future, it’s not going to be the quick fix here,” Kuhn said.
School board chairman Allen Altman said some have recommended that schools run on a split schedule. Those riding a bus would be on one schedule; and others arriving on their own, would be on another.
“I’ve talked to some of our school people,” Altman said. They essentially told him that would be impossible.
Kuhn concurred: “School operations would be an issue.”
Board members also heard from scores of people explaining the negative impacts that shifting the school day will cause.
Two parents came to the board’s Nov. 2 meeting to share their concerns.
One said his wife teaches in the district.
He said the new school starting and ending times creates a child care issue.
Spending money for child care, in essence, lowers his wife’s teaching salary.
Although she loves teaching, from the family’s economic standpoint, they might be better off if she took a job where she could work from home.
Another parent raised concerns about traffic safety issues.
The new schedule has Wiregrass Ranch Elementary and Wiregrass Ranch High School starting at the same time.
Both schools are located on Mansfield Boulevard.
He’s concerned about having so many vehicles coming and going at the same time.
Board members expressed empathy for the impact the scheduling changes will have on families, students and the community. But they said the district must do what it can to ensure students don’t miss out on instructional time.
The superintendent initially had called for the new schedule to be in effect for the second semester of this school year and for the entire school year, in 2022-2023.
But he has stepped back on that recommendation, agreeing, instead, to reassess the situation in May to determine whether the change will be necessary for next school year.
The district also will continue its efforts to recruit more drivers.
One way it hopes to entice applicants is by making sure potential drivers know that the district offers flexible scheduling.
Drivers can take morning shifts, afternoon shifts, or both. They also can choose to work only on specific days of the week, Kuhn said.
PROPOSED BELL TIMES
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
School Start End
Bexley 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Centennial 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Chester Taylor 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Connerton 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Denham Oaks 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Double Branch 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Lacoochee 8:10 a.m. 2:20 p.m.
Lake Myrtle 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
New River 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Oakstead 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Odessa 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Pasco 8:10 a.m. 2:20 p.m.
Pine View 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Qual Hollow 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Rodney B. Cox 8:10 a.m. 2:20 p.m.
San Antonio 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Sand Pine 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Sanders 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Seven Oaks 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Starkey Ranch K-8 9:10 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Veterans 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Watergrass 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Wesley Chapel 9:10 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
West Zephyrhills 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
Wiregrass 8:10 a.m. 23:20 p.m.
Woodland 10:10 a.m. 4:20 p.m.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
School Start End
Centennial 8:10 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
Rushe 7:15 a.m. 1:42 p.m.
Cypress Creek 8:10 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
John Long 9 a.m. 3:20 p.m.
Pasco 7:10 a.m. 1:30 p.m.
Pine View 9:10 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Stewart 9:10 a.m. 3:35 p.m.
Starkey Ranch K-8 9:10 a.m. 3:30 p.m.
Weightman 8:10 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOLS
School Start End
Cypress Creek 7:10 a.m. 1:37 p.m.
East Pasco Education Academy 8:10 a.m. 2:35 p.m.
East Pasco Education Academy 9:10 a.m. 3:35 p.m.
Land O’ Lakes 7:10 a.m. 1:35 p.m.
Pasco 7:15 a.m. 1:45 p.m.
Sunlake 7:10 a.m. 1:44 p.m.
Wesley Chapel 7:10 a.m. 1:34 p.m.
Wendell Krinn 8:10 a.m. 3:05 p.m.
Wiregrass Ranch 8:10 a.m. 2:36 p.m.
Zephyrhills 7:10 a.m. 1:36 p.m.
Note: These schools are located in or near The Laker/Lutz News coverage area. For a complete list of schools and proposed bell times, visit the Pasco County Schools’ website at Pasco.k12.fl.us.
Published November 10, 2021
