Board moves Bon Air and Clover Hill elementary schools to tier‑2 bell schedule for 2025‑26

Chesterfield County Public Schools on Feb. 27 approved shifting Bon Air and Clover Hill elementary schools from the tier‑1 bell schedule to tier‑2 beginning in the 2025‑26 school year, a change staff said will reduce morning and afternoon pressure on the bus fleet.

Mr. Davis told the board that if the division kept the status quo it would create an imbalance in bus demand, leaving tier‑1 with roughly 35 more buses and drivers than the other tiers and likely requiring many double‑back routes. "A double back is when a single bus does 2 routes," Davis said, adding that double‑backs would cause some students to arrive substantially earlier and some afternoon runs to end later than planned, and could imperil the division’s ability to meet its target pickup performance during inclement weather or heavy absentee days.

Staff said they surveyed families and staff at Bon Air, Clover Hill and Winterpock; responses varied by school (families at Bon Air and Clover Hill slightly favored the change while staff responses skewed against it; Winterpock families slightly disfavored a proposed move while its staff strongly favored it). Because of the system‑wide bus demand implications, staff recommended moving only Bon Air and Clover Hill to tier‑2 at this time; staff said Winterpock would require additional related moves to avoid creating new imbalances.

Board member Lisa Hudgins asked what would happen if the board declined the change; Davis reiterated the operational consequences—additional double‑backs, earlier student arrival times, late afternoon departures and potential service disruptions on bad‑weather days. The motion to adopt "memo 02‑28" passed by roll call; aye votes were recorded from Todd Heffron, Dominique Chatters, Stephen Pronto, Lisa Hudgins and Ann Coker.