The Juneau School District’s consolidation plan for next fall means some students and parents will have to spend extra time traveling each day to get to school.
To accommodate that, the Juneau School Board voted on Tuesday to slightly change the start times for some grade levels.
While all elementary school start times will remain the same next year, middle school and high school will shift to begin 15 minutes later.
That means for all the high schoolers heading to Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé downtown next year, classes will start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. The middle schoolers headed to Thunder Mountain Middle School in the Mendenhall Valley will start at 8:45 a.m. and get out at 3:15 p.m.
And, despite the change, the district will still offer a bus shuttle service for students who live anywhere to go to the optional programs at the Dzantik’i Heeni Campus in Lemon Creek. Those programs include the Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi alternative high school, Juneau Community Charter School and Montessori Borealis.
District officials say the benefit of the later start time means high school drivers will be on the road after the morning rush hour traffic, and it will give them more time to sleep in and find parking.
A different start time option was also discussed by the board Tuesday night. It would have made elementary schools start earlier instead. But, members ultimately decided against it. Dan Debartolo, a former school board member and parent, testified in favor of more sleep for young students.
“If you’ve ever had an elementary-age student, every drop of sleep in the morning can be precious and be the difference whether or not you’re getting your kid to school tardy, unexcused, or not,” he said.
The district says new bus route schedules will be developed and posted on its website ahead of the new school year.
