Split vote leads to changes in Lawrence school day.
By: Steve Feitl
Despite a split vote Wednesday evening, the Lawrence Township Board of Education approved modest alterations to the times public school students will attend classes during the 2003-2004 school year.
Most grades will only see their school days change by a total of 5 minutes, as opposed to the 30 that had been proposed previously. Including the vote from the Washington Township representative, the Lawrence board voted 8-2 in favor of the changes.
At the K-3 level, 10 minutes will be added to the end of the school day. That means students will still start classes at 8 a.m., but the school day will now extend to 2:40 p.m.
Students in grades 4-6 at Lawrence Intermediate School will have their school day begin 5 minutes later at 8:35 a.m. in the fall. They will now get out of class at 3:35 p.m., as opposed to 3:30 p.m.
Lawrence High School and Lawrence Middle School, housing students in grades 7-12, will start their days 5 minutes earlier at 7:55 a.m. Currently, the students begin classes at 8 a.m. However, the school day will also end 5 minutes earlier at 2:55 p.m.
Editor’s note: For more on the school start time debate, including details of the school board’s discussion of the issue Wednesday evening, see the June 5, 2003, edition of The Lawrence Ledger.

