No clear consensus on District 1 start times

A proposed earlier start for some Yuma elementary students showed no clear consensus at the first forum to gauge public opinion Tuesday at Gwyneth Ham Elementary School.

The hope is the uniform start times proposed by Yuma Elementary School District 1 will lead to transportation savings that can then be put back into the classroom.

Three informational meetings open to the public on the proposal are scheduled this week. The first at Gwyneth Ham Elementary School, drew over 100 people, about half of them children, in which those opposed appeared to slightly outnumber supporters.

The district recommends that all schools begin at 7:30 a.m., with elementary schools ending at 2:10 p.m. and middle schools at 2:34 p.m.

Currently, start times for the 14 elementary schools in the district are either 8 or 8:30 a.m. with dismissal at 2:45 or 3 p.m. The five middle schools start at either 7:45, 8 or 8:25 a.m. and get dismissed at 2:45, 3 or 3:25 p.m.

There were several reasons for the budget constraints according to Kerry Jones, chief financial officer of District 1. First, the student population declined recently. And because of that schools receive less money from the state. Meanwhile, in 2004, voters failed to approve the budget override provision, Jones noted.

The budget override allowed the district to exceed the base level amount provided by statute. Originally it was 6 percent. But over the last three years it has been phased out by providing just 2 percent. The 2007-08 school year is the last year District One has override funds, which amounted to $954,000 that is not available for next year.

By uniting start times for District 1 schools it will achieve economies of scale by not duplicating services, Jones said.

"We're able to pool with the high school district all buses necessary to pick up elementary and middle school students," Jones said. "Then we pick up the high school students. We utilize each others buses."

If District 1 does not go forward with the proposal they would need to hire more drivers and buy additional buses.

Yet by starting all schools at the same time it is estimated they could save $113,000 a year, Jones said.

Tara Smith, who has two children at Gwyneth Ham School said, the earlier start inconveniences her family.

"If they go earlier, it's dark in the winter, it's more dangerous to leave a child at the bus stop," Smith said.

Cecilia Moreland, who has a 9-year-old son at Alice Byrne School, said the new time was too early for the elementary level.

"A lot of children rely on the breakfast program so that means they have to start even earlier than the start time," she said.

Ann Rodeghiero, has a second-grade daughter and a son in kindergarten at the O.C. Johnson School. Rodeghiero, who works as a nurse at Yuma Rehabilitation Hospital from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. is concerned with Wednesday early dismissals that allow teacher conferences.

"I won't be able to take my kids to school with this schedule," Rodeghiero said. "I won't have any quality time. Time I connect with them in the morning is important to me."

Jackie Kravipz, who has a first-grade daughter at Alice Byrne School, said, as a former teacher at Crane Jr. High School that began at 7:20 a.m., the first period was "a wasted period" because students were not fully awake. The proposal will adversely affect children with any extracurricular activities, she insisted.

"My daughter plays softball and if you want mom and dad there - they can't get started until after five that means they're not finished until eight and don't go to sleep until after 10," Kravipz said.

But Larry Weeks, whose sixth-grade son goes to Gila Vista Junior High School, said, "I think they came up with a creative solution, I think they're workable times."

Stuart and Brenda Smith who care for their granddaughter, a second-grade student at Gwyneth Ham School while their daughter serves in Iraq, said it is a necessity due to a rise in gas prices.

"We got to consolidate where we can so we can still apply funds to academic purposes," Stuart Smith said.

The money saved could be used to hire an additional two teachers or maybe add a program now lacking, Jones said.

"The number one thing is, by having more buses available we can cut down on travel time, which we think is a good thing," Jones said.


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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.
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BOB

The two additional informational meetings are:

Wednesday at at Post Auditorium, 400 W. 5th St.

Thursday at Desert Mesa Elementary School, 2350 S. Avenue 7-1/2E