JCPS superintendent says adjusting start times will address bus driver shortage, improve attendance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The head of Jefferson County Public Schools believes there's a solution to improve student attendance and grades: changing school start times.

Right now, there are two start times. Middle and high schools start at 7:40 a.m., while elementary schools start at 9:05.

Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said the district is behind the curve when it comes to start times, and he wants to see them change.

"It is probably something that should have been done 10 to 15 years ago in this district at a minimum," Pollio said. "Most of our peer districts may have 10, 12, even 20 different start times."

For years, JCPS has had two separate start times, but Pollio thinks having multiple would address two important issues — starting with the bus driver shortage.

"The solution to this is adding additional start times," he said. "We're not going to get a multitude of bus drivers that are going to be coming in anytime soon. So, reducing our bus routes from about 750 bus routes down to 600 is what we have to do."

John Stovall is the president of Teamsters Local 783, the union that represents bus drivers. He wants to hear more about the plan.

"I understand why they're trying to do it, because (of) the shortage of bus drivers. Not sure it will work," Stovall said. "It may work out for the drivers a little bit better. But until we actually see the plan in place, I don't know."

Pollio said the goal is for the new start times to be within an hour of where they are now, and believes the change would improve sleep habits and attendance.

"And when we have kids starting at 7:40 in the morning, the research is very clear, that is unhealthy for our adolescent kids," he said.

But Linda Duncan, who represents District 5 on the JCPS Board of Education, has some concerns about the plan.

"I worry about the impact it's going to have on those kind of things," Duncan said. "Parents who drive kids to school, how they're going to juggle that because they drive high school and middle school and elementary school, sometimes."

Pollio said having several start times is working in surrounding school districts.

"Oldham County, for example, their elementary school kids go first, their middle and high school kids go second," he said.

Pollio believes it's time for change, and believes his proposal will help improve attendance, grades and the bus driver shortage. He said there will be town hall meetings later this month about the plan and, if the board votes to approve it, the new times would start next school year.