No Andover School Start Time Changes For 2020-2021 School Year

ANDOVER, MA — The Andover School Committee agreed at their Thursday meeting that they would not make any changes to school start times for the 2020-2021. Members agreed that the district could not afford to make the change next year. The decision comes two months after a motion by Paul Murphy to lock in such a delay died without support from the other four members.

The other four members said at Thursday's meeting that they regretted the delay but felt they were not in the position to move forward.

"I, frankly very sadly, feel that the answer is we can't," said Chairman Joel Blumstein. "I'm not happy with that result but I think the reality is that, for budgetary reasons and other reasons, we're just not in a position to do that."

The committee did not pass a formal motion not to make changes for next year, but all five members agreed they could not afford to do anything else.

The committee was hit with a shock in January, when they discovered the district would get significantly less state aid than they expected next year. Most of the start time options now under consideration would require adding at least eight buses, each of which would cost almost $60,000.

In addition, Assistant Superintendent Sandra Trach explained that the Start Times Working Group and Parent Advisory Council still needed time to analyze the different start time options. Among other issues, more analysis was needed on the impact on special transportation, athletics and other extra-curriculars, private schools and faculty, Trach said. The Parent Advisory Council only began meeting last month.

However, the working group has narrowed the number of options to five, based on parameters set by the Committee at a December meeting. The status quo remains on the table, alongside three "shift" scenarios and one "flip" scenario, laid out in an attachment to the committee's agenda.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.