MARYSVILLE — A later start to the day for high schools isn’t likely to happen in the Marysville School District next fall.
Students, parents and school employees have overwhelmingly urged the school board to abandon the idea in Web surveys and public testimony.
The board is expected to decide on starting times at its Nov. 16 meeting, but three of the five members have indicated they would likely vote for earlier starting times after hearing concerns from students and local residents.
One option calls for a 7:10 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. schedule at Marysville Getchell High School and 7:35 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck.
Far less popular has been a second option proposing a 9:25 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. day at Marysville Getchell and 9:50 am. to 4:30 p.m. day at Marysville-Pilchuck.
Opponents to the late-start option said it could have a big impact on sports and other extracurricular participation, as well as after-school job opportunities. Some parents also said they depend on their high school students to care for younger siblings after school.
Morgan McFalls, a Marysville-Pilchuck sophomore, who teaches piano lessons after school, said the late start would be too disruptive for students. He predicts the district could see an enrollment drop if it adopts that option.
“I love my school, but not enough to stick around for this,” he said, adding “You run the risk of losing me and others like me.”
The school day at Marysville-Pilchuck now starts at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m.
School board members said the late start option was worth studying because national research supports a later start for high school students as a way to be better rested for classes.
Board member Sherri Crenshaw said the later bell schedule was worth looking into, but “I personally don’t think it’s a good idea for our community.”
A 2005 study published in the medical journal Pediatrics concluded that students have special needs in their sleep cycles and “school schedules are forcing them to lose sleep and to perform academically when they are at their worst.”
School board President Michael Kundu was an early advocate of the late start idea, but said the wishes of the community are clear.
“I am inclined to support what the community wants,” Kundu said. “I understand there is a wealth of logic and science that support the late start but I need to take the pragmatic over the progressive (approach) in this case.”
A Web survey found 88 percent of the 2,140 Marysville high school students to weigh in on the options preferred the earlier starting time.
Of the 930 parents and local residents to respond, 84 percent backed the earlier starting times. Among staff members, there was a 65 percent preference to the earlier classes.
Arden Watson, president of the Marysville teachers union, said she hasn’t sensed any public support for the later starting times.
“I wish there had been some other options that would have worked,” she said.
Under either option, the starting times for the two schools will be staggered because the district is allowing students to attend either high school campus regardless of where they live. Students from both schools will share the same buses, meaning students from Marysville-Pilchuck will be shuttled from Marysville Getchell in the morning and students from Marysville Getchell will make a stop at Marysville-Pilchuck at the end of the day.
The net effect is an extra 25 minutes a day on the bus for students at both schools.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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