KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Families with students enrolled in Olathe Public Schools could know new school start and end times for the 2024-25 school year by the end of the semester.
The district previously tasked a committee with gathering input from families on the issue and making recommendations.
In a letter to families, the district said the committee received thousands of responses to a feedback survey — 7,302 from families and 2,771 from staff.
Now that input has been gathered, the committee will begin reviewing different start/end time options, assess survey feedback and explore the challenges and opportunities of each option, the district said.
Conversations around changing start times began last school year because of bus driver shortages.
The district adapted to the issues by implementing rolling blackouts for some routes, but said it wanted to find a more permanent solution.
"Our goal is to recommend a new 2024-25 start/end time schedule for Board approval by the end of the semester," the district said in the letter. "This would provide the district, our families and our staff with a full semester and summer to make necessary plans and adjustments for the new schedule to roll out in the 2024-25 school year."
The district said it hopes the start and end times could allow the district to implement a payride program and expand field trip opportunities, among other things.
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