With the addition of the new Ridgeline Middle School and the related boundary changes at the middle school level, our team had to reconfigure bus routes for the 2025 - 2026 school year.

As a result of this reconfiguration, we determined the best scenario for our students was to shift school start and end times as follows:

Elementary

• Old: 7:55 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
• New: 7:30 a.m. - 2:20 p.m.

Middle Schools

• Old: 8:35 a.m. - 3:55 p.m.
• New: 8:30 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.

High Schools

• Old: 8:40 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
• New: 8:55 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.

Process

Staff from across the district developed and analyzed more than a dozen scenarios and their impact on students, families, and school operations. The final scenario was selected for the greatest benefit to students with the least impact on:

• Instructional calendar
• Budget, particularly in a challenging funding year
• Activities / athletics
• Childcare
• Length of routes
• Route start and end times

The change in bell times may also provide more availability for activity / athletic drivers, reducing the amount of time students are out of class for out-of-town trips.

Next Steps

Those students that qualify for transportation services will be sent their route time by the Transportation Department the week of August 11.

For more information, email engage@weldre4.org.