Parents, students and staff urge Edmonds School Board to pause 07:20 elementary start proposal

Dozens of parents, students and district staff packed the Edmonds School District boardroom and urged the board to pause a plan that would move many elementary schools to a 07:20 a.m. start in 2027-28.

The public-comment period — extended to two hours by the board at the start of the meeting — featured repeated concerns about safety (children standing at bus stops before sunrise), equity (speakers said 10 of the district’s 14 Title I elementary schools would be placed in the early tier), and family cost and logistics. Tom Kozachinski, a Westgate Elementary parent, told the board that under the plan “5-year-olds would need to be at bus stops by 06:30 in the morning” and that many families would face annual childcare bills he estimated at $4,500 to $5,750.

The crowd also cited petitions and survey data. A parent who said she organized a petition reported more than 1,600 signatures opposing 07:20 schedules; another speaker said the district’s survey showed more than 3,100 community responses broadly opposed to the early elementary start. “This proposal is not just a regional outlier,” Kozachinski said, noting state averages and neighboring-district schedules.

Speakers urged the board to explore alternatives before assigning the earliest start times to the district’s highest-need schools. Suggestions included expanded public-transit partnerships, “hub” stop models, larger walk zones for older students and targeted transportation investments to relieve pressure on bus routing rather than shifting the burden to the district’s youngest learners.

Student board advisors and several high-school students also addressed the board. Scarlett, a student advisor, acknowledged that high-school scheduling presents real issues for adolescents and for after-school activities, but she and other student speakers asked the board to keep seeking a balanced solution that does not “make our youngest and most vulnerable kids guinea pigs.”

Board President Katum and other directors acknowledged the volume and force of the testimony, and several directors said they did not support solving high-school start-time problems “at the expense of elementary” students. The board had earlier told speakers there would be a long runway for the initiative and that no immediate implementation would occur; staff said additional community input and analysis will continue before any final actions.

What’s next: The board has not adopted the new schedule during this meeting. The district’s public materials and staff presentations remain the next places for parents to review data; the board will continue considering options and has scheduled further studies and budget discussions in coming weeks.