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Board debates later start times for middle and high schools amid traffic and staffing constraints
Summary
Administrators presented options for an hour-later middle/high school start and shorter class periods; police and union concerns about crossing guards, traffic flow and contractual teaching minutes prompted calls to study smaller shifts (1520 minutes).
The Glen Rock Board of Education discussed several scenarios on June 8 to move middle- and high-school start times later, but officials cautioned that traffic patterns, crossing-guard staffing and teacher contract language create practical limits.
Administration presented three options that shift start times about an hour later and either maintain full-length classes (which would push dismissal into late afternoon) or shorten periods to 53 or 50 minutes. "The middle school high school cannot have the same starting or ending times as the elementary schools," an administrator reported after consultation with local police, saying staggered schedules exist to allow shared crossing-guard coverage.
Police officials told administrators that dispersing elementary drop-off times across the town would create conflicts with commuter traffic and that extending crossing-guard hours could cost roughly $100,000 a year. "They were very clear that due to traffic patterns and the way the town is set up, the middle school, high school cannot have the same starting or ending times as the elementary schools," the presenter said.
Board members and advocates pushed for exploring smaller changes. "If we move from just 07:50 a.m. to say an 08:10 start, that gives our students 60 hours of extra sleep a year," said a board member who cited evidence from pediatric and public-health organizations and cited Ridgewood's experience changing start times.
Administration said the presentation was an early step and asked the board to provide guidance on specific alternatives to investigate (for example, 8:00 or 8:10 start times) and to work with police and other stakeholders to assess feasibility. Several trustees said the next step should be committee-level work to develop a narrower set of options and to secure buy-in from teachers and the police department before a formal vote.
No formal change was adopted at the meeting; board members asked administration to return with focused options and impact assessments.
