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Board reviews three‑tier bus plan, 2 extra instructional minutes per period and 30‑minute lunch proposal
Summary
District staff proposed a three‑tier transportation plan for 2025‑26 intended to reduce late arrivals and pickups, add instructional time at secondary schools and create a unified bell schedule; staff said high schools would shift to a 7:00 a.m. start and the plan aims to reduce instances of unsupervised students at bus stops.
Lee County School Board members heard a detailed proposal Feb. 4 to move to a three‑tier transportation system for the 2025‑26 school year, a change district staff say will reduce late pickups and arrivals, add instructional time and make bus routes more efficient.
District presenters said roughly 47,000 students ride district buses. Using current arrival and pickup percentages, staff said the district now sees an estimated 7,990 students arriving late in the morning and roughly 18,800 students who are picked up late in the afternoon under the current schedule. The three‑tier plan is designed to lengthen windows between tiers so buses run on schedule and students are not left unattended at stops.
The proposed schedules discussed at the workshop include a high‑school bell near 7:00 a.m. (the presentation noted high schools were moved from 7:05 to 7:00), middle‑ and elementary‑school bell times adjusted to fit three tiers, and a districtwide move to a 30‑minute lunch period at all levels. Staff said an additional two minutes per class period at the secondary level translates to roughly 14 extra minutes of instruction per day, or almost 42 hours across a school year — about six additional school days of class time.
Special‑center schools (programs that draw students districtwide) were proposed for tier 3 because their routes are more complex; staff said they would reassess special‑center assignments after the first routing batch in March. Middle‑school principals had pushed back against a proposed move to 49‑minute periods; staff recommended keeping middle‑school periods at 47 minutes for one more year and reviewing the change next year.
Staff outlined outreach done since the initial presentations: meetings with principals and principal leads, transportation staff, communications, labor relations, TALC and food service. Common concerns raised included before‑ and after‑school care at elementary schools, teacher contract times relative to student arrival/dismissal, substitute coverage for meetings, and the potential impact on teachers who rely on 30‑minute supplements at some schools. Staff also noted the district is watching SB 733 (state legislation discussed in workshop) as a related policy development affecting high‑school start times.
Next steps: staff plan another feedback cycle, complete route mapping tied to current student assignments and present a final recommendation in March. If approved, staff said routes will be printed and tied together in late March, with further operational tests and communications for families in the spring and summer.
Ending: The board did not vote at the workshop; staff will return with a final start‑time recommendation in March after the first routing batch and continued stakeholder feedback.
