LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public School's (JCPS) proposal to change the school district's start times is leaving parents with mixed emotions.
For some parents, the nine times will be an easy adjustment.
"I already take my kids to three different schools, so my work day starts a lot later. Luckily, I'm flexible enough," one JCPS parent Alex Molina said.
But for other parents like Emily Kennedy, the change is a dilemma.
Kennedy says right now, her daughter starts school at 9:05 a.m. If the proposal passes, at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year Bloom Elementary will start more than an hour early and end around 2:20 p.m.
"I don't really know what I'll do," Kennedy said. "I have a flow and I don't want it to break. It's going to really be hard because I work 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every single day, so obviously that's in the middle of the day."
Superintendent Marty Pollio says he understands the change will be challenging, but it needs to be done.
"We have to do something different," he said. "Doing nothing means we will end up with the same problems next year. And quite possibly, a worse situation next year."
He says on a daily basis, hundreds of students miss class or arrive late because of the bus driver shortage. Pollio believes his proposal will improve attendance, drop the number of bus routes from 732 to 600 and give children more time to rest.
"The 30,000 students getting an extra hour of sleep will improve attendance, will improve tardiness and will improve academic outcomes," he said.
However, not all students will get extra sleep. Schools like Bloom Elementary will start at 7:40 a.m. Pollio says the adjustment was the best way to lower bus routes and support schools with a higher need.
JCPS says it will work families during the transition.
As for giving students another year to adjust, Pollio said this:
"I'll say this again. Doing nothing means we have the problem we have right now, but worse which means 20,000 kids missing instruction, a total of 3 million minutes. It's just not an option for us."
Jefferson County's School Board is expected to vote on the proposal by mid to late March.
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