A proposed change to bell times at the elementary and junior-senior high schools in Bridgewater would result in an 8:30 to 2:30 school day.
About 35 people took part in the public consultation to talk about opportunities or challenges that would happen if the change occurred.
Benefits included convenience and easier schedule for working parents while more traffic and less parking were listed as obstacles.
Bridgewater resident Siobhan Doyle spent six years on the BES travel planning committee.
She says the committee struggled to get students from the Junior-Senior High to help younger kids transition to school by walking due to different start times.
“Given that the two are on the same block and that there are so many families who have kids in both schools, it always seemed like a good idea that we would have them on the same start time from my perspective.”
Kim Benjamin says the bigger question has to do with grade reconfiguration.
“Because, if the grade reconfigurations don’t change you then don’t have to change the bell times. The bell times need to change to accomodate the grade reconfigurations.”
The South Shore Regional School Board listed options for reconfiguration.
They included keeping the status quo, making BES primary to grade four and putting grades five to nine in the junior-senior building, or making BES primary to grade five and using the junior-senior school for grades six to nine.
Feedback was collected and will be given to board members.
The school board will make a decision by the end of April.
