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Sarasota school leaders recommend seeking waiver from state start-time mandate, cite bus capacity and staffing limits
Summary
Superintendent Connor recommended the board pursue a state waiver and adopt a three-tier start-time model for traditional schools to preserve current routines and reduce transportation costs; transportation leaders said the change could free about 35 buses daily but flagged driver shortages and an $89,000,000 annual shortfall in current services.
Superintendent Connor told the Sarasota County School Board at its Dec. 2 workshop that the district will pursue a waiver to the state law mandating later middle- and high-school start times in 2026–27 and urged a districtwide move to consistent three-tier start times for traditional schools.
"What I would like to recommend to the board is that we do submit a waiver," Connor said, summarizing staff recommendations after community meetings and surveys.
The nut of the proposal is operational: Dr. Kemp, who presented the transportation analysis, said standardizing traditional comprehensive schools to three start times — 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. — would preserve current routines for many schools, improve routing efficiency and free vehicle capacity. "That new model would free up about 35 buses every every every day," Dr. Kemp said, adding that the district currently operates 191 routed buses.
The transportation presentation included utilization estimates for the three-tier model — roughly 145 buses at 7:30 a.m., 154 at 8:30 a.m. and 123 at 9:30 a.m. — and a recounting of staffing challenges. Dr. Kemp cited routine late‑fall spikes in call‑outs; on Nov. 14 the district recorded 47 driver call‑outs out of roughly 178 allocated drivers. "We can recruit. We can market. We can pay more," he said, noting a six-week lead time for CDL training and high turnover to private-sector employers.
Board members asked for more financial detail. Several requested a transportation cost analysis that distinguishes ESE (special education) and partial‑day services and explains the drivers of the district's reported operating shortfall; Dr. Kemp described an annual funding gap he said amounts to about "$89,000,000 a year" for transportation services.
Connor told the board staff will monitor state rulemaking on the waiver form and report back: a Department of Education workshop on the waiver process was scheduled the following week. The superintendent said he would keep the board updated on whether the waiver submission requires formal board approval.
What happens next: the presentation concluded with board discussion and direction for staff to continue analysis and stakeholder outreach. No formal motion or vote was taken on the waiver during the workshop.
Context: Florida enacted a law to set earliest start times for middle and high schools beginning in 2026–27 and allowed districts to seek waivers under specified criteria. Sarasota staff emphasized the operational tradeoffs — transportation routing, childcare burdens for families, after‑school activities and coach/training impacts — and proposed targeted carve‑outs for specialty programs (for example, Pine View and Venice Middle School were highlighted as exceptions).
