A response to protests by parents of revised transportation schedule set to begin in September.
By: Kara Fitzpatrick
MONTGOMERY Superintendent Stuart Schnur has agreed to conduct a survey to assess the satisfaction of parents of elementary school children with a revised transportation schedule that has drawn considerable opposition in recent weeks.
Most of the current opposition to the revised schedule which will shift school start and end times beginning in September is linked to Orchard Hill School’s start-time rollback of 45 minutes.
Three community members met last week with Dr. Schnur, Board of Education member Bill Hyncik and other district officials to discuss the issue that has some parents up in arms.
In March, the nine-member Board of Education unanimously approved the revised plan. School administrators said months of research and consideration went into developing the approved plan.
But several community members felt their voices were not adequately heard and they’re on a mission to change the board’s decision.
"Many parents believe the new schedule will have very negative effects on their children’s health and scholastic performance, as well as their families’ finances and ability to spend quality time together on weekday evenings," David Foglesong, a parent who attended the recent meeting, said in a statement.
The "tangible result" of the meeting, according to Mr. Foglesong, was an agreement by Dr. Schnur to issue a comprehensive, systematic survey of parents’ views on transportation and scheduling issues before November.
Mr. Foglesong said it was agreed that the survey would be designed this summer, and both Mr. Foglesong and Dr. Schnur said there would be parental involvement when determining the format and structure of the survey.
"We’re trying to find out if the parents approve or not," Dr. Schnur said.
Mr. Foglesong said he hopes the board "will formally commit itself to the survey" and use the feedback to determine the most accommodating scheduling.
Mr. Hyncik confirmed that he would report the proceedings of the meeting to the rest of the board.
"I am going to suggest that the board engage in a group project to do a survey to the parents to solicit more feedback about the busing and the scheduling," Mr. Hyncik said.
The approval of a survey by the board is a "big step forward," according to Mr. Foglesong.
"It would clearly mean that parents would be consulted in a much more systematic way than they were last year," he said.
The new schedule will have the high school begin at 7:30 a.m., the upper middle school at 8:27 a.m., the lower middle school at 8:15, Orchard Hill Elementary at 8:15 a.m. and Village Elementary at 9 a.m.