The school start time committee at the Park Hill School district continues its work, with a portal for online public input scheduled to open next week.
Public feedback boards are expected to open Monday, Sept. 23 on parkhilllistens.com ahead of another meeting of the committee at 4:30 p.m. that day at Plaza Middle School. The meetings are open to the public.
The committee is scheduled to make its final recommendations to the board of education in October. A public open house will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 at Plaza, in the large gym. Afterward, the committee will review public feedback before drafting its recommendations to the board.
The board of education is expected to vote on the final recommendation on Thursday, Oct. 24.
District officials say as the district has grown, it has become more and more difficult for district service provider First Student to keep and hire enough bus drivers. First Student has to use inexperienced substitute drivers and driving trainers often have to fill in on routes. Changing start times would mean fewer drivers are required to drive routes, allowing First Student to hire and keep more experienced drivers.
The district backed away from a plan to change start times earlier this year, pushing the plan back to the 2020-2021 school year and appointing the committee made up of parents, staff and other interested members of the community.
Earlier this year, another committee studied how school start times affected student sleep patterns and how sleep patterns can also affect school.