Guilford Pushes Changing School Start Times to the Back Burner

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

GUILFORD, CT — A year ago Guilford school officials were holding serious discussions and having town meetings on the issue of whether to push back school start times later in the morning.

Those same school officials concede, reluctantly, the issue has moved to the back burner this year.

Officials were basing the discussions last year on educators and experts being nearly unanimous in believing that teenage children would be better students if high school classes started later in the morning.

After all, study after study shows that students, especially as they get older, need more sleep. Those studies are what educators constantly refer to when they tackle the issue of trying to change school start times.

In the midst of the discussions last year, Guilford School Board Chairman William Bloss said: “This is the single most complicated issue that I have been involved with in my time on the Board of Education and I’ve been on it since 1999.’’

“Every time we answer one question, two others are raised,’’ said Bloss at the time.

Well fast forward to the present, and as school officials are finalizing plans for the 2017-2018 budget, both Bloss and School Superintendent Paul Freeman conceded that the discussion on later school start times have stalled.

Bloss, in a recent interview was blunt.

“No one disputes the science, or at least no one on the Board of Education does,” said Bloss. “The practical issues that we are facing are that (1) Guilford is one of the largest towns in the state geographically; (2) we have three school bus waves because we have only one high school, one grade 7-8 school, and one grade 5-6 school; and (3) in order to main three waves of busses we would have to add multiple new bus runs or else face the risk of some schools (either elementary or middle) letting out of class at 4:30.”

Bloss continued: “This might add more $500,000 to our budget at a time we are concerning with maintaining programs and figuring out if state aid is going to be maintained. We are trying to be imaginative, but reality is intruding.’’

Freeman concurred with Bloss.

“As I am putting together the draft budget for the Board of Education, start times are not being considered,” said Freeman.

“The bottom line is that while I am still interested, I do not have a viable plan in front of me that is not cost prohibitive, especially on the heels of last year's final approved budget, which was very lean and which caused some reductions in existing programming,’’ continued Freeman.

“While it has moved to a back burner, it is something that I intend to continue looking into,” said Freeman.

Twelve years ago, the town of Wilton switched start times at its middle and high schools from 7:35 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. for students in grades 6 to 12. Elementary school students in Wilton switched to the earliest time start slot – 7:35 a.m.

Besides Guilford, school officials in Bridgeport, Cheshire, Greenwich, Ridgefield, Westport and West Hartford, among others, have held various level of discussion on the issue.

Schools that have studied the issued have to confront challenges such as after school employment for high school students, child care, school sports schedules, other after-school activities – and the additional cost of changing school bus contracts.