Jefferson County board hears detailed options for 2026–27 school start times, staff urges routing-software rollout first

The Jefferson County Board of Education on June 10 received a detailed briefing on transportation and possible changes to school start times for the 2026–27 school year, with operations staff recommending the district first complete rollout and testing of new routing software before making major schedule changes.

Dr. Tyler Sheeran, executive administrator of operations, told the board there is “no perfect start time model” and outlined two broad options: retain the current three-tier configuration or shift high schools (and Ramsey Middle School) to a later tier. Sheeran said implementing the latter would require substantially more routes and drivers and would push many routes into afternoon rush-hour traffic.

The recommendation from staff was to complete full implementation of the new routing software during 2026–27, use the 2026–27 school year to validate and optimize routes and only consider large start-time changes for the 2027–28 school year or later. “If we change start times, we would have to reroute the whole district again. That is typically an 18 to 24 month process,” Sheeran said.

Why it matters: moving high schools to a later start is supported by a body of education research linking later start times to improved adolescent sleep and attendance. But the district’s transportation modeling shows the trade-offs are significant: later high-school dismissal would create a much larger final tier of routes near evening traffic and require many more drivers to avoid late arrivals and extended school supervision obligations.

Key numbers and operational details provided by staff: - Current active drivers: about 620. Earlier benchmark years reported roughly 740 drivers. - Daily absenteeism rate used in modeling: about 11.3 percent; models account for replacement staffing at that rate. - Total routes (approximate): districtwide routes in the modeling were on the order of 1,700; staff said retaining three tiers keeps per-tier route counts lower. - Scenario modeling: shifting high schools to the third tier would raise that tier’s routes from about 557 to an estimated 685; that third tier could need roughly 760 drivers to cover routes when accounting for typical absenteeism. - Current clear-time targets: this year’s clear time was about 5:40 a.m. for completing runs; a shifted-high-school scenario was estimated to produce a final-clear time near 6:45 p.m. (staff described that as an approximation pending full rerouting).

Staff noted depot locations and campus-sharing constraints (Ramsey and Farmer elementary share a campus) that influence routing. Marcus Daub, executive administrator of transportation, and Bradford Daniels, director of routing, described the district’s recent improvements in driver recruitment and retention and said the new routing software will add optimization tools now missing from the legacy system.

Board members asked detailed questions about the math behind the driver counts, whether the software could be used to run alternative scenarios this year, and what pilots might be feasible. Several board members urged staff to present additional models that use other “levers” (clustering, targeted pilots, or different hybrid configurations) rather than only the two headline options. Sheeran and staff said they can produce additional scenarios but cautioned that producing accurate, board-ready scenarios requires back-and-forth clarification and time.

The board voted to receive the update and requested staff provide more data on bus-driver staffing and transportation metrics at the next meeting. Mr. Craig moved to receive the update; Miss Strange seconded and the motion carried.

Quotes are from staff and board members during the June 10 presentation and question-and-answer session.