On Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., we will hold an informational meeting for Perrysburg Schools families at the Commodore Building Beck Auditorium (140 E. Indiana Ave.) to share the transportation options we have considered for the 2017-2018 school year with the addition of Hull Prairie Intermediate School. In addition to reviewing the different options that were considered, I will present the transportation plan and school start and end times that we are most interested in recommending to the Board of Education to hear your feedback prior to the Monday, March 20, 2017 Board of Education Meeting.
With the opening of Hull Prairie Intermediate School in August 2017, it is necessary to reconfigure the bus routes to accommodate a new school building that draws students from across the entire school district. In doing so, it will be necessary to change the start and end times for some of the existing schools to accommodate the additional school. In creating the options that were considered, we did have a few guiding principles that we kept in the forefront:
- Not starting any school
earlier than our current earliest start time – 7:45 a.m.
- Link the new Hull Prairie Intermediate School and Perrysburg Junior High School start and end times to maximize the sharing of staff.
- Be the least disruptive to as many families and staff members as possible in selecting start and end times.
- Start the high school later in the morning than its current time (8:00 a.m.), based on what research says about the developing adolescent brain and the benefits of a later start time.
- Keep costs down.
- Maintain collaboration rotations in the elementary day.
- Continue to provide state-required transportation to St. Rose and other nonpublic schools.
Perrysburg Schools began by creating four options and reviewed them internally with principals and other administrators. Following that meeting, the options were modified based on that feedback. Last week, we presented the options to an ad hoc committee of families representing all schools. The plans were also shared with leaders of the teaching and support staff. The feedback has been invaluable, and two additional options were created as a result.
We have now had a chance to evaluate the pros and cons of each of the six proposals. As we reviewed the guiding principles and considered the feedback received thus far, we have identified one option that we would like to present to the community for comment.
Below is the proposed schedule for the 2017-2018 school year:
| Recommended 2017-18 Transportation Plan |
| School | School Day Start Time | School Day End Time | Comments |
| Tier 1 | | | (HPI & PJHS transported together) |
| Hull Prairie Intermediate School | 7:45 a.m. | 2:45 p.m. | - HPI start will be the same as the PJHS start time this year. - 15 minutes is needed between the end of the day at each school to have time to transport students from HPI to PJHS. |
| Perrysburg Junior High School | 8:00 a.m. | 3:00 p.m. | - PJHS start time will be the same as PHS start time this year. - The length of school day will increase by 10 minutes. |
| Tier 2 | | | |
| Perrysburg High School | 8:30 a.m. | 3:25 p.m. | - High school start and end time will move 30 minutes later than current year. - PHS students will be transported independently of Tier 1 and 3. |
| Tier 3 | | | |
| Elementary
(K-4) | 9:00 a.m. | 3:45 p.m. | - Elementary will keep its current start time. - Elementary day will be lengthened by 15 minutes. |
| Tier St. Rose | | | |
| St. Rose | 9:00 a.m. | 3:30 p.m. | - St. Rose start and end will remain the same. - The exiting routes will be reconfigured. |
Generally speaking, the school district needs approximately 45 minutes between tiers, in this case, Tier 1 and Tier 3, since they will utilize the same buses and drivers. During this window, buses will drop off HPI and PJHS students and when complete, go to the elementary buildings to load the students at the end of the day. This process takes an estimated 45 minutes. As a result, the elementary day was extended by 15 minutes to accommodate this. Perrysburg High School’s Tier 2 will be independent of Tier 1 and Tier 3.
The need to extend the elementary day by 15 minutes is a result of needing to be able to get the buses to the elementary schools after dropping off HPI and PJHS students. We are still working to see if there is any way we can reduce the extension of the elementary day. The PJHS school day will also extend by 10 minutes to fit with the HPI schedule. We are reviewing individual projected bus routes with our current student data as well as looking at the HPI and PJHS schedules to minimize the disruption of operations for our schools and departments. If this option moves forward, we will communicate with families and staff if there are any changes.
In reviewing the guiding principles, the above plan does achieve many of the goals. Our current system is not perfect, but it is the one that families are used to. Changing it, even slightly, can generate a great deal of concern.
The meeting on Wednesday, March 15, will provide a venue to explain how our transportation works, review the options that were generated, share more about the preferred option and then listen and answer questions that families may have. We will evaluate the feedback and make adjustments if appropriate. We will then share this information with the Board of Education and they may then choose to vote on the proposal.
If you have questions or feedback, please feel free to call me at 419-874-9121 ext. 2103 or email at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Thomas L. Hosler
Superintendent