PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — The Pasco County School District has been struggling with a shortage of school bus drivers, with some students arriving at their classes upward of an hour late.
On Tuesday, the school board voted to change the start times from a three-bell schedule to a four-bell schedule to allow the current bus drivers to cover more ground with more time to do so.
"This is not just a Pasco phenomenon, it's a statewide and national phenomenon," superintendent Kurt Browning said.
The school board voted unanimously in favor of changing the start times. This would change in start times would affect dozens of schools. Click to see the full list.
Some start times vary only by a few minutes, changing from 8:29 a.m. to 8:35 a.m. For others, it's an hour and a half difference, going from 9:40 a.m. to 8:10 a.m.
Parents expressed their concern during the meetings' public input portion. Dustin Alsey said his wife is a Pasco County Schools teacher. The schedule change would put his family in a bind over childcare.
"What this is going to do is put my family and many families on my block at risk, we're going to have a choice — my wife's school is going to be two hours after my kids' school," Alsey said.
Alsey asked the school board to find a different way or his wife may need to find a different job, adding the costs of childcare does not make his wife's salary realistic for their family.
He said it could cause other teachers in similar positions to make the same tough call.
Browning and other members of the school board made clear they knew this was not an ideal position to be in, going so far as to call it "desperate times."
"I don't like it, I don't like anything about it," Browning said. "But I will tell you, I equally and probably more so dislike having kids miss the instructional time before great teachers in this district."
The schools will reassess this decision in May 2022. In the meantime, more effort will go into staffing the current 87 bus driver openings. The schools will be posting job openings on the schools' marquis, there will be employee referral incentives and continued efforts to attend job fairs.