Manatee County School Board addresses earlier school start time

How much of a difference does starting school 15 minutes earlier make to teachers, their students and the parents who drive them to school?

Local high schools may start classes at 7:30 a.m., rather than 7:45 a.m., to help pump more instructional time into the slew of 95-minute periods students attend each school day.

After receiving recommendations from the Manatee Education Association (MEA) and the School Advisory Council (SAC), the Manatee County School Board will discuss whether to approve an earlier start time, while keeping the 2:05 p.m. ending time. The board meets at 5:45 p.m. May 26, at the School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

A mock schedule has been proposed for the six local high schools that would be affected by the change, such as Braden River and Lakewood Ranch high schools. 

Students would receive 33-minute lunch breaks, and their classes would all be 95 minutes, with the exception of first period, which is slated for 50 minutes, plus eight minutes for morning announcements.

To view the proposed schedule for high school students, visit http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/agenda/REVISED%2005-26-15%20-%20May%2026,%202015%20-%20Regular%20Meeting%20on%20Tuesday,%20May%2026,%202015/714DB038-8AE5-4E07-9458-57CD0DA7E492.pdf.

The school board is also slated to discuss the terms of Interim Superintendent Don Hall's tenure, such as maintaining the $98.46 an hour rate former Superintendent Rick Mills received. Officials will also decide the next step of the superintendent search process.

For more information on tonight's agenda, visit http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/agenda/REVISED%2005-26-15%20-%20May%2026,%202015%20-%20Regular%20Meeting%20on%20Tuesday,%20May%2026,%202015/D9FB3F48-F071-4FD8-A9BB-432BE1492035Agenda.htm.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].