Charlotte County schools consider start time changes, parents voice concerns

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)— Charlotte County Public Schools is considering changes to the start and end times of it’s schools.

Proposed changes include starting high schools at 8:30 a.m. instead of 7:10 a.m., with an end time of 3:30 p.m. Middle schools would start at 9:20 a.m. instead of 9:10 a.m., ending at 4:20 p.m. Elementary schools would consolidate staggered start times to a single start at 7:40 a.m., ending at 2:10 p.m.

Charlotte County Public Schools held a series of workshops to discuss potential changes to school start and stop times. The district needed to demonstrate to the state that they consulted with parents and schools about this issue. The consensus from both schools and parents is to keep the current school start times, as changing them would not only be unpopular but also costly for the district.

The discussions took place during School Advisory Council (SAC) meetings at each school. Parents were invited to attend and share their opinions, although only official SAC members could vote on whether to recommend keeping or changing the times. School principals were instructed to remain neutral, guiding discussions about the pros and cons.

Most schools voted to maintain the current start times. At Port Charlotte Middle School, the vote ended in a tie. Charlotte High School did not have enough members present to hold a vote, but the majority of attendees seemed to favor keeping the current times.

The district was unsure of the exact number of parents who participated, but it appeared that more elementary school parents attended. This was likely due to concerns about the proposed change, which would have made elementary schools start much earlier.

If the district were to change the schedule, it would require three additional school buses and three more drivers, costing approximately half a million dollars.

The district will next send the meeting records and results to the state to show compliance with the required process. The school board will then make a recommendation to submit to the state at their board meeting Tuesday, March 10 at 5:30PM.