MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Marion County Public Schools is considering creating uniform start and end times across the district, which would potentially change start and end times to the school day by hours for some schools.
“There is no way that I can be available for my physicians and patients if I’m spending two hours in the morning driving back and forth to school,” Shayla McGlynn said.
As a working mom with children in both middle and elementary school, McGlynn said she is worried about what it will look like getting her children to school this upcoming fall.
The Marion County School Board will be discussing potential changes for when students start and end school for the 2024-2025 school year.
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In this proposal, you see changes for all grade levels with elementary the start time would be going back a few minutes just a little after 7:30 am
For middle school, those times are nearly two hours later, and for high school, their start time would be 8:30 a.m.
“I want them to realize that this change doesn’t just affect parents trying to get them to school reasonably and make sure their kids are on time, but it also affects children in their after-school projects,” McGlynn said.
More parents have commented online — some for, some against, and some looking to get results for parents and the school board.
The district tells News 6 that parents need to understand the district is taking every viewpoint seriously.
Kevin Christian, who is a spokesperson with Marion County Public Schools, said, “It’s been a challenge for us this year. Bus drivers are hard to find, we’re a growing school district, we get more students that seems almost like every day.”
Christian said the committee over the proposed changes tried to maximize student time in the classroom while taking into account the circumstances of some 24,000 students riding buses in the district.
“We have to look at the schedule,” said Christian. “We have to look at what’s best for students. Often, what is best for students is not what’s best for adults.”
These bell schedule changes come as the district prepares to comply with a new law passed last year.
HB 733, which was signed into law last summer, requires district school boards to adopt new start times by 2026. Middle schools may not start before 8 a.m., and high schools may not begin before 8:30 a.m.
“We encourage parents to speak up,” said Christian. “Because we want everyone to be a part of the process.”
Tuesday’s school board meeting is a work session to discuss the potential bell time changes.
A vote is expected to happen after that work session at the following school board meeting.
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