AMHERST — Two months into the academic year, some Shutesbury students are continuing to arrive late to their classes at the regional secondary schools in Amherst on a near daily basis.
“My daughter is getting to school 20 minutes late regularly and is convinced she is going to fail her class,” Jaime Donta of Shutesbury said at a joint meeting of the Amherst-Pelham Regional and Shutesbury school committees Tuesday.
Even beyond her daughter’s late arrival, though, Donta said there is an equity issue for Shutesbury students, who are being deprived of partaking in the regional schools’ free breakfast program.
Whether there is an easy solution to Shutesbury students arriving well after the 9 a.m. secondary school start time, though, is uncertain, despite Superintendent Michael Morris apprising the regional committee of the problem for both Shutesbury and Leverett students in September, adding that the late arrivals means differing educational progress and programs, and less time in learning.
“We have a group of students from one town in particular who are arriving late at school every day,” Morris said.
Much of the focus currently is on addressing the problems on Route 25R, which travels on Locks Pond Road, near Lake Wyola, and then to Wendell Road. Some families on the route have already sought alternate means of transportation.
Facilities Supervisor Rupert Roy-Clark presented six solutions, or mitigation strategies, with the first three that can be done at no expense. Those include having elementary students dropped off at Shutesbury Elementary School well before the 8:15 a.m. start time, which would require a waiting place for them and some staff to start earlier, merging two elementary school routes into one, which would mean longer rides for those students, and merging elementary and regional routes.
Morris said there is no perfect solution, as each one would have unintended consequences. The adjustments that would come with a price tag could have a $100,000 or more impact on the budget.
Those three solutions are adding a bus driver or leasing an additional bus, adjusting the bus contract with Five Star to require an extra bus or driver, and adjusting routes that go through Pelham.
Roy-Clark said the easiest way to fix the problem would be for the bus runs to the secondary schools to begin earlier. Doing that, though, would mean that the elementary schools would have to start earlier; a later start time at the high school is not possible due to a potential disruption to high school sports.
Union 28 Superintendent Jennifer Culkeen said any earlier start would not be possible due to that being negotiated with teachers and staff.
The most appealing solution, Morris said, seems to be one in which elementary and secondary students would ride the same bus. Roy-Clark said that would mean some students being on board for 50 or more minutes.
But whether that will have any momentum before a decision is made is uncertain.
“As a parent, I would have a lot of qualms about a K-12 route,” said Shutesbury School Committee member Julie Martel.
Melissa Warwick of Shutesbury said that if a K-12 route is the preferred option, the schools would have to hire a bus monitor for the ride. Warwick reflected on her own experience growing up in Conway riding on buses that transported pupils to both Conway Grammar School and Frontier Regional School.
“I have very distinct memories of high schoolers bringing alcohol on the bus and doing other very inappropriate things,” Warwick said.
Amherst representative Peter Demling said the committees will have to pick the best solution, and likely one with no cost implications, while Pelham representative Sarahbess Kenney said there is urgency.
“We need a solution, because what’s happening right now is not working,” Kenney said.
Shutesbury School Committee Chairman Dan Hayes said that his town has already made a lot of concessions, suggesting that the regional schools find a way to add a buffer in the morning at the high school, a buffer that already exists in the afternoon.
“Changing time in Amherst has resulted in the issues here,” Hayes said.
Morris noted that the change in school time, which began in fall 2021, has been largely supported, including by the Shutesbury, Leverett and Pelham representatives to the committee, and especially by students, who are getting more rest.
Martel suggested thinking outside the box, and Tessa Kawall, the student representative to the Regional School Committee, did that, with Hayes expressing support for her proposal.
Kawall said that a better way to start the school day, rather than going to what is already a long class, would be to shorten that class and introduce elements of relaxation, possibly even yoga. That would give students a good way to ease into their learning.
“That could benefit all students,” Kawall said.