Rochester School Board decides on modest changes to school start times
After months of spirited discussion, the Rochester School Board voted Tuesday to move back start times for all district students — welcome news for sleepy students, who for years have been waking up earlier than nearly all of their statewide counterparts.
Starting with the 2022-23 school year, secondary students (middle and high schoolers) will start school at 8:20 a.m., 40 minutes later than the current scheme. Elementary schoolers will have their start times pushed back an extra 20 minutes, from the current 9:15 a.m. to 9:35 a.m.
Tuesday’s vote was the culmination of a year-long research process, after the board shot down a potential change in February — with the intention of re-visiting the topic before 2020 ended. Board members approved the measure by a 7-0 margin.
“We’ve talked about this for a very long time,” said Board Chair Deborah Seelinger. “This feels very significant for our district.”
The new start times for secondary students will still be earlier than the statewide average and slightly earlier than the CDC’s recommendation of 8:30 a.m., but the changes will improve upon what has been an unusually early bell schedule. Less than one percent of Minnesota’s high schoolers currently start school before 8 a.m. — the vast majority of those students in RPS.
The board chose the 8:20/8:20/9:35 plan (known as Option B) over another proposal that would have completely overhauled the district’s start times — moving elementary school to an 8 a.m. start and pushing secondary school all the way back to 9:15 a.m.
First Student, the district’s busing partner, estimated that the latter option would cost the district at least an extra $180,000 — possibly up to as much as $400,000 per year. The plan the board approved is not expected to incur any major additional busing costs.
In addition to cost concerns (with the district already facing a budget deficit), board members preferred Option B’s schedule because it would leave elementary school child care and secondary after-school activity schedules largely unchanged. Some board members, however, expressed a desire to further alter bell times in the years to come.
“I don’t necessarily think this goes far enough, but I think it’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Board Member Jean Marvin.
While the original goal was to implement the new start times for the 2021-22 school year, board members decided to push it back one extra year — citing a desire to wait until construction will be completed on the district’s new elementary school, when the subsequent redistricting process will be finished as well.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
Cover photo: file / licensed via Canva
