Norfolk shifts grade-school hours to save bus costs

NORFOLK

The classroom day will start later and end at 3:55 p.m. at as many as 18 Norfolk grade schools beginning this fall as part of a plan that will save the division $465,000.

The later start and release times will allow the division to use fewer buses and employ about 20 fewer drivers than last year, cutting the payroll substantially, interim Superintendent Michael Spencer said Thursday.

The new schedule means the day will start at 7:25, 8:15, 8:55 or 9:30 a.m., depending on the school. Schedules for individual schools are posted on the division's Web site, www.npsk12.com; click on the "Parents" link.

For many households, weekday routines such as when parents leave or return from jobs are based on school and bus schedules.

"We know the kind of havoc this plays for family schedules; we're all very sympathetic," Spencer said. "The reality is, we're trying to keep teachers in the classroom." He said the savings will be equivalent to 10 teachers' salaries.

Lillian Akers, the principal at Mary Calcott Elementary School, said it was too early to know what impact the shift to a later day will have on families. She said a couple teachers with second jobs outside Calcott will have to adjust their personal after-hours schedules.

Spencer said he was concerned that the later release times could mean some children would be dropped off at bus stops as darkness is falling later in the year.

Akers said Calcott's after-school running club might also have to adjust so students aren't out at dusk.

New bus routes and pickup/drop-off schedules for the fall are being fine-tuned and will be made public in mid-August, Spencer said.

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com