Bismarck School Board approves two-tier bell schedule; elementary schools to start first in 2025-26

The Bismarck School Board voted Jan. 13 to transition the district to a two-tier bell schedule, with elementary schools beginning first, beginning in the 2025-26 school year.

Superintendent Dr. Fosnott told the board that routing work with vendor Transpar gives the district "a very high level of confidence" that the district can operate with an elementary start time of about 7:50 a.m. and secondary start times in roughly an 8:30–8:40 a.m. window. He said the routing plan is built to allow roughly a 60-minute gap between elementary and secondary drop-off windows to enable buses to run two tiers of routes on busy travel days.

The board and administration said the change responds to persistent transportation delays and a shortage of bus drivers that have lengthened routes and caused unreliable service. The district ran community forums and surveys last year and received thousands of responses to inform the planning process.

"We still have significant delays. Kids waiting at schools and stops as we continue to struggle with our present transportation system," Dr. Fosnott said during the presentation. "With a very high level of confidence, they were telling us that our first start time would be elementary at 7:50."

Board members said the change is difficult but necessary. Board member Lee called the shift a tough but needed change: "Change is always tough, but nothing changes unless we change the way we're doing things." Board member Peterson said the two-tier plan "will provide some of the much needed not only quality control on the bus but in the supervision before and after school." Board member Presky reminded colleagues that the stated goal is more reliable and safer busing: "The whole goal of this was to provide some reliability and... a safer busing system for our students."

The administration emphasized remaining work: Transpar is still finalizing exact school-by-school start times and run times; the district said it is continuing work on childcare capacity (to help families adjust to new start/end times) and on detailed route planning. The administration said it will provide families and the community updated, firm start times as soon as routing is complete.

The motion to adopt the two-tier schedule and to direct the administration to continue planning passed on a roll call in which the transcript records the following recorded votes: Lee — Yes; Peterson — Yes; Brezke/Presky — Yes; Hager (Vice President) — Yes. The transcript shows those four recorded Yes votes; a member's recorded vote was not captured in the transcript excerpt.

Implementation details given in public remarks and the presentation: - Proposed elementary start (high confidence): about 7:50 a.m. - Proposed secondary start window (projection): about 8:30–8:40 a.m. - Planned operational gap between tiers: roughly 60 minutes - Vendor conducting routing: Transpar (routing work ongoing) - Targeted implementation: 2025-26 school year - Community engagement: multiple PTO visits, middle-school forums, public videos, and a district survey that produced thousands of responses - District follow-up work: finalize routes, firm school start times, and add childcare capacity where possible

The board directed the administration to continue planning and to keep the board and public informed; the district said it intends to publish firm start times as soon as routing results are available.

The vote ends a year-long operational review that included consultant recommendations, committee review, community forums and surveys. The administration told the board that the two-tier structure is used in many large districts and is intended to reduce driver needs while improving on-time performance.