School Year To Ring In Schedule Changes
Published: Jun 20, 2007
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TAMPA - Some students will get a few more minutes of sleep and others a few less with new bell times approved Tuesday by the Hillsborough County School Board.
Starting and ending times will change for more than 100 of the district's 237 schools, most by five to 15 minutes. The changes will help coordinate buses and add time to the middle and high school day.
Some schools adopting changes are part of a pilot program to make transportation more efficient, with south county schools switching to uniform opening and closing times. High schools will run from 7:33 a.m. to 3 p.m.; middle schools from 9 a.m to 4:15 p.m.; and elementary schools from 8:05 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. The intent is to move the rest of the district to uniform times in 2008-09 if the transportation changes work.
Some of the changes south county students will face when classes start Aug. 20 include longer walks to bus stops, with two to 20 students at most stops and each student limited to one drop-off point. To balance the number of students each bus carries, children who don't ride regularly may not be guaranteed a seat. Hillsborough averages 60 percent capacity, with many buses nearly empty or overloaded. The national average is 75 percent to 85 percent, district consultants said.
"I want to paint a picture of imperfection in advance," Jack Davis, chief information and technology officer, told the board, stressing the experimental nature of the plan.
In other action, the board approved two personnel appointments, effective July 2. Pam Roberts, principal of Sulphur Springs Elementary, becomes principal of Oak Grove Elementary, replacing JoAnn Redden. Linda Gaughan, coordinator of assessment and accountability, becomes supervisor of reading research and assessment, a new position.
Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Bell Times, to see the new schedule of starting and ending times for all Hillsborough County schools in August.
