CFO presents bell-schedule options; board asks staff for cost-neutral scenarios and community input

Poudre School District Chief Financial Officer Dave Montoya updated the board Jan. 28 on the district’s ongoing study of bell schedules and possible changes to school start times. Montoya presented modeled scenarios for 2- and 3-tier transportation systems and the potential effects on bus routes, driver needs and operating costs; the board did not vote but directed staff to run additional analyses and seek community input.

Background and what was done: Montoya said the district converted last year from a largely nonstandard, two-tier routing pattern to a consolidated three-tier model to address driver shortages and operating costs. "We went from about 123 routes down to 113 routes," he said, describing the August 2024 implementation that produced operational savings and reduced overtime and charter bus use. Montoya said the net savings included roughly $1.1 million in the budget and that one route currently costs about $115,000 (labor, mileage and operating costs).

Montoya described constraints the district still faces: an ongoing driver shortage (he reported being short about six drivers at the time of the meeting), an aging fleet with an average bus age of about 15 years, and supply-chain delays affecting bus deliveries. He said the district recently issued a solicitation for pricing on up to 17 buses.

Scenarios presented: First Consulting, the district’s transportation consultant, modeled three main approaches. Montoya summarized the consultant’s outputs as follows (figures are from staff modeling presented at the meeting):

- Option 1: shift to start times of roughly 8:00 / 8:30 / 9:05 in a 3-tier model. This compression of the operating window required additional routes in the consultant model — Montoya reported it would add about 28 routes (an estimated $3.2 million). A 2-tier version of the same timing would require about 21 additional routes (about $2.4 million).

- Option 2: a middle-ground model moving tier start times to about 7:45 / 8:25 / 9:05. That model produced a smaller increase in routes: Montoya reported about nine more routes (roughly $1.0 million) for the 3-tier variation and about 18 more routes (roughly $2.1 million) in the 2-tier variation.

- Option 3: shift the entire day later (example: 8:00 / 8:45 / 9:35). That model kept a similar operating span for the 3-tier scenario and produced little change in the number of routes, but Montoya cautioned it would push the end of the school day later (for example, end times in some models moved to 4:35–4:40 p.m.) and could have significant impacts on after-school activities and athletics. A modeled 2-tier variant of option 3 produced larger route increases (about 18 routes, or $2.1 million).

Montoya explained the core technical point: compressing the operating window forces buses and drivers to operate in tighter time windows and often increases the number of runs required; lengthening the operating window can reduce that pressure but shifts afternoon end times and may affect extracurricular schedules.

Board and community concerns: Board members and public commenters raised multiple concerns. Julie Wenzel, a community member who spoke during public comment, described students waiting outdoors before dawn and urged later start times for safety and student sleep. Several board members said they were sympathetic to students’ sleep needs — particularly middle school students — and cited potential impacts on student mental health, extracurricular participation and staff work schedules.

Board members suggested next steps including exploring a flip of middle- and high-school tiers (putting middle schools later and high schools earlier in the tier order), testing smaller shifts (for example a 7:45 start rather than 7:30), and prioritizing changes that would be cost neutral. Scott Schoenbauer, Connor Duffy, Kristen Draper and others emphasized they would not support options that increase ongoing costs given budget pressures and the district’s fleet condition.

Timing and procedural notes: District staff said some deadlines affect the timeline. A staff member noted that the school-of-choice window and school configuration packet timelines limit how late a decision on bell times could be made for next school year: "it's probably too late for next school year," the staff member said, adding configuration packets and choice windows are already in process. The board asked staff to coordinate with the consultant and provide updated modeling and community engagement as soon as possible.

Next steps: The board directed staff to run additional scenarios (including flipping middle- and high-school tiers and cost-neutral runs), to engage the community on trade-offs and equity impacts, and to return with analysis that includes effects on athletics, after-school activities, staff hours and bus eligibility radii. No formal vote was taken at the meeting; staff committed to follow-up analyses and community outreach.