Pender County Schools pauses plan to adopt three-tier bell times after lengthy staff presentation

District transportation staff presented a proposed three-tier bell schedule intended to stagger start times on the east side of Pender County to reduce duplicate routes, lower the number of parent drop-offs on combined campuses and capture instructional time for older students.

The presenter said the district has studied the idea for three years, engaged a third-party consultant to model current 2025 ridership data, and conducted community outreach including surveys and two community forums. Staff told the board the TIA for the new K-8 recommends a staggered schedule and that the modeling shows a three-tier plan on the east side could eliminate roughly 12 routes while improving vehicle and driver utilization. Applying the model districtwide, staff said, would require additional routes on the west side because of lower population density and longer rural routes.

The presentation proposed sample bell times for an east-side three-tier model: middle schools at 7:30 a.m., high schools at 8:15 a.m. and elementary schools at 9:00 a.m. Staff said shifting high schools earlier by 15 minutes could add 15–20 minutes of instructional time for students involved in athletics and activities. They also noted the planned change would move the district’s earliest student pick-up time by only two minutes earlier than the current earliest stop in some cases.

Board members raised concerns about the proposed 9:00 a.m. elementary start, impacts on working families and childcare needs, and longer afternoon dismissal times for elementary students (sample 9:00–4:05). Staff referenced precedent from other districts and said the model is paired with proposals for before-school child care and other mitigation measures; staff also cited prior district experience with a three-tier model in another county where it reduced the number of active routes and preserved efficiency.

After discussion and questions from several board members, including new members who requested additional time to review the data and to hear from absent board colleagues representing other geographic areas, a motion was made and seconded to table the proposal until a meeting with full board attendance.

Nut graf: The three-tier bell schedule drew extensive technical and stakeholder analysis and sharp questions over family impacts; the board voted to delay action so the full board can review the consultant data, community feedback and staff mitigation proposals.

Ending: The district will provide further documentation to the board and staff said they are available to convene additional meetings or a special called meeting so the full seven-member board can vote.