“Studies show that high schools should start later and we’ve been doing it backward,” said Belleville High School Principal Michael Van Tassel as he endorsed a plan to have high school classes start about 40 minutes later this fall than in the past.
At Monday’s regular Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education meeting, the board voted unanimously to have the buses pick up middle school students first and then high school students, with all elementary schools on the same schedule and being picked up in the third tier. (Trustee Sherry Frazier was absent due to the illness of her husband.)
The new class hours are:
• North and South Middle School: 7:07 a.m. to 2:21 p.m. (total instruction time is 7 hours and 14 minutes a day);
• Belleville High School: 8:02 a.m. to 3:09 p.m. (total instructional time is 7 hours and 7 minutes a day); and
• All elementary schools: 8:49 a.m. to 3:56 p.m. (total instructional time is 7 hours, 7 minutes a day).
Special arrangements will be made for BHS students attending William D. Ford in Wayne/Westland, Tyler Gifted and Talented students, and fifth grade band students. Also, all Schools of Choice, GT, and high school students need to register for transportation again this year if they wish to ride the bus.
Transportation Director Rhonda Manning was given the assignment of having all the elementary schools on the same schedule this fall. She said with all elementaries having the same start time, it should eliminate overcrowding at the schools that had started earlier in the past, making them attractive to parents who had to leave earlier for work. This brought a lot of attendance area deviation requests and overcrowding in some schools.
“This recommendation will also minimize the impact on the district’s athletic program for student’s academic time due to departure times for the bus. This option will have the older students home in the afternoon for the younger siblings for day care and babysitting issues and still give high school students a later start in the morning,” Manning said.
“As you are aware, studies have shown that many high school students excel when they are rested and have a later-starting school day,” she added.
Manning said staff, parents, and students need to be notified of the time changes as soon as possible so they can make any necessary arrangements due to this realignment.
She said she believes there will be cost savings on the bus runs because of reduced miles travelled for the fleet due to the time changes.
Parents with concerns or questions are invited to call the superintendent’s office.
Rawsonville Elementary School Principal Karensa Smith said parents will have to have their questions answered. Some parents are more interested in their convenience than academic considerations, she said.
A parent suggested middle school students need more rest, too, so officials will seek out any studies available on that subject.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board:
• Heard an update on the $79,040,000 BHS bond project from Paul Wills of Plante Moran CRESA, who noted the construction is 53% complete. There is $743,007 left in the budget to be earmarked and the school board will decide how to spend that amount. Wills said the “carpet” is down on the artificial turf football field, but that area is still an active construction site;
• Heard an update on the general fund budget from business office consultant Michael Dixon, who said the district has until July 29 to file its deficit reduction plan telling the state how it will eliminate the $2.7 deficit over two years;
• Approved the recommendation of Plante Moran CRESA to wire up the seats in the large group instructional classrooms under construction at BHS, adding lines for data and power. Existing subcontractor Metro Electric Engineering Technologies will do the work for $42,726, to be paid from Owner Contingency funds in the construction budget;
• Approved Plante Moran CRESA’s recommendation for additional hardware for door frames from existing subcontractor Heaney Construction at a cost of $22,344, paid for from the Errors and Omissions contingency funds;
• Approved Plante Moran CRESA’s recommendation to revise the fire alarm system at a cost of $114,470, to be paid from the architect’s Errors and Omissions funds. Paul Wills of Plante Moran said the architects should have designed the system to state specifications. “What the Fire Marshall wants, the Fire Marshall gets,” Wills said;
• Approved Plante Moran CRESA’s recommendation to make changes to the hard-wired, electrical hand dryers for BHS to ensure the hand dryers function properly. When checking out the plans, it was found seven hand dryers were missing from where they should be and 14 additional electrical connections needed to be made. Cost is $24,228 from existing multiple contractors and will be paid through the architect’s Errors and Omissions funds;
• Postponed a discussion concerning the concept of trimesters. The agenda item carried a recommendation from the team studying trimesters that it would be in the best interest of students for BHS to retain semester scheduling;
• Heard a report on reconfiguring the middle schools to have one school house grades 5 and 6 and the other school house grades 7 and 8. More information is being gathered on the proposal, which should be adopted by the end of October if it is to be put in place in the fall of 2012;
• Heard a report on proposed changes to attendance areas for the elementary schools, aimed at balancing enrollment in the schools. The proposal moves the Gifted and Talented program from Tyler to Savage school. This proposal also will be studied further for possible implementation in the fall of 2012;
• Approved the requested layoff of Brian Burrell, BHS custodian/ maintenance employee; and the retirement of Catheryn Vinnay, BHS food service worker, after 11 years; and
• Approved employment of Jacqueline Johnson as a BHS custodian as of July 1, recalled from layoff.