Why is the start time staggered with elementary first, and then middle and high?
When evaluating the potential impacts of these shifts, childcare and family support was a consideration. Elementary-aged children cannot be left unsupervised. Starting elementary schools first and earliest, allows working parents complete drop off prior to typical 8 a.m. workplace start times. It also allows siblings in high school to care and support drop off, if needed and appropriate. Dismissing middle school students prior to high school students will potentially provide opportunities for more activity bus drivers, reducing the amount of time students are out of class for out-of-town trips. Additionally, we looked to reduce the overall number of shifts that occurred and worked to maintain consistency with previous practices.
What was the process?
The Office of Operations initiated work on this project with the Transportation Department in February to develop criteria, constraints, and options. The first round of analysis identified 27 possible scenarios. Each scenario was analyzed, and staff identified pros and cons. This work was reviewed with the Superintendent. After thoughtful discussions, 12 scenarios were presented to the district’s Leadership Team, a group consisting of all principals and directors. A smaller working group was convened to work through the Leadership Team feedback and recommend a final option to the Superintendent.
Why wasn’t there a vote on the matter?
The Board of Education approves the school calendar, which was approved in February and remains unchanged. The overall calendar did not change, only the bell times. School bell times are considered an operational matter, and do not require action of the Board of Education or within the duties of the Board. As an operational matter, it would also not fall within the requirements of a community-wide referendum, typically reserved for matters of funding or election of Board of Education representatives.
Why weren’t parents provided an opportunity to give feedback?
Gathering feedback from our key stakeholders — parents, staff, and community members — on key districtwide initiatives is our typical process. We did not gather feedback from our families as is our normal process, due to logistical constraints and the condensed project timeline. This is not our typical approach to districtwide solutions, and we acknowledge that this was a misstep.
Are there before / afterschool programs?
Yes. AlphaBEST is the district’s preferred provider for before and after-school care. Families can work directly with AlphaBEST to secure care at all elementary schools except Mountain View from 6 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. and 2:20 - 6 p.m. The middle schools offer a range of after-school clubs and activities. Please contact your school to learn more.
Does this affect all schools?
Yes, all non-charter schools within the Weld RE-4 School District will adhere to the following bell schedule times:
- Elementary: 7:30 a.m. - 2:20 p.m.
- Middle: 8:30 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.
- High: 8:55 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.
What are the start and end times for preschool?
Our preschool schedule will be 7:30 - 10:20 a.m. for the morning session and 11:30 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. for the afternoon session.
What are the anticipated benefits of this shift?
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
In addition, we believe the separation of middle and high school routes will decrease the number of negative behavior incidents on our buses. The change in bell times may also provide more availability for activity / athletic drivers, reducing the amount of time students are not in class for out-of-town trips.
Why was the middle school day shortened?
During the discussions on the bell time shifts, middle school principals provided a recommendation to better align instructional time at the middle schools with the other levels. Over the last 15 years, we have added time to the middle school day three times to accommodate different non-instructional needs. For example, additional time was added to the middle school day to accommodate bussing needs with the addition of Severance High. The desire was to make a shift once, rather than adjust the school day length at a future date.
Does the length of our school days meet state legal requirements?
Yes, all of our schools meet the state’s required number of instructional hours. In the state of Colorado, secondary schools are required to have 1,080 instructional hours and elementary schools require 990 instructional hours. We ensure that each year we exceed the state’s required number of instructional hours.
What if we didn’t change the school bell times?
If bell schedules were not changed, and our transportation routing strategy remained the same, we estimate costs to be approximately $4.6M in bus purchases and the addition of 26 drivers, estimated at $780,000 in salary and benefits. These initial estimates do not include the additional fleet maintenance costs of fuel, mechanical maintenance, and mechanic labor. Currently, we store our bus fleet indoors, and we cannot accommodate additional buses. Parking buses outdoors increases wear and tear on the fleet. It was determined that the current budget cannot support the expenses associated with this scenario. Additionally, it is difficult to maintain our current bus driver staffing requirements, and we are not optimistic that we could fill 26 additional driver slots.
Is there $15 million in capital funds that could be used for buses? Or could the reserves or bond funds be used for buses?
For the 2025 - 2026 fiscal year, we have budgeted $3.5M in the Capital Reserve Fund and $13.6M in Unassigned Reserves. The Capital Reserve Fund supports facility maintenance projects across each of our 12 campuses, whereas the Unassigned Reserves is the equivalent to a savings account. We are required by Board Policy to maintain 5 - 10% of the budget within the Unassigned Reserves account. As required by Colorado law, we maintain a balance of 3% of the General Fund in Emergency Reserves. We aim to have approximately two to three months of payroll in this account to ensure we can meet our commitments to our staff throughout the year. We average $6.5M in payroll expenses each month.
While bond funds, in general, could be utilized to purchase buses, the ballot measure question did not include transportation purchases, and we are required to align our efforts with voter expectations. Additionally, bond funds are not used to fund non-capital or recurring expenses, like salary and ongoing maintenance, because bond funds are a one-time revenue item versus ongoing revenue.
Why was the July Board meeting cancelled?
It is a long-standing practice that the Board of Education typically does not meet in the month of July. However, there is a Special Meeting scheduled for July 22 to complete necessary business items.
This change was announced in June. Why wasn’t it announced earlier?
We recognize that the timing of this announcement was not ideal. We had anticipated work to begin on this effort earlier, however, there was a shift in the Transportation Department’s leadership that delayed the project. Our goal was to be thoughtful and thorough with this implementation, while balancing the timeliness for our staff and families to adjust their schedules.
Is there a staffing issue in Transportation? Why don’t you pay them more?
Similar to the national teacher shortage trend, we also see this reflected in other staff areas, like Transportation. We work to review pay to stay as competitive as possible in comparison to other school districts within the constraints of our limited budget. Every three years, we conduct a formal market analysis. Unfortunately, we could only offer a 2% cost-of-living increase, and not the full market adjustment due to budget constraints.
Why were teachers not given notice that their contracted hours were going to be changing? And why was feedback not collected from them before making changes official?
While we recognize the timing of the release of this information was not ideal, we worked to release the information as soon as possible. Staff were notified on June 25. Feedback was requested from a variety of staff across the district, including principals. The Windsor-Severance Education was made aware of the shift prior to the release to staff and families.
Why were teachers notified during their non-contracted summer days?
We notified staff as soon as the information was available, as we wanted to provide as much notice as possible to adjust family schedules or address any childcare needs.
SMS announced they were adding an extra period this year. Is that still happening?
Yes, the new bell schedule still includes the new period, an academic enrichment class.
How will this change affect activities / athletics schedules at the high school level?
The high schools will release 15 minutes later than our previous schedule. We anticipate that afterschool activities will shift the same amount of time. We coordinate game schedules at least a year in advance and work with schools with a range of bell schedules. We do not anticipate any changes to game schedules.
Why is bussing a two-tier system in the morning (elementary and high school / middle school) and a three-tier system in the afternoon (elementary, middle, and high school all separate)?
Switching from a two-tier system in the morning to a three-tier system in the afternoon will potentially provide more flexibility for combining routes, as needed. Combining routes, as we’re able, may allow drivers to be assigned to activities / athletics routes, reducing the amount of time students are out-of-class to avoid afternoon route conflicts.
With the new change, the first pick up time for bussing is 6:30 a.m. Is that too early?
Our district includes 103 sq. miles, which does affect our Transportation routes. The first route of the day under our previous model was 6:30 a.m., and remains the same with the new model.
What safety measures is the district proposing to keep elementary students safe in the dark and cold with the new bell schedules?
Student safety is top of mind. In the event of inclement weather or potential inclement weather, our staff will monitor the current conditions and forecasts. We often coordinate with families on days of inclement weather for which we do not have a delay or cancellation about the weather and preventative measures. Our approach to inclement weather and student safety will remain unchanged.