Change in Beaufort County school start times draws mixed response

Bluffton High School football player Nate Butts did the math on the decision to push back start times for Beaufort County middle school and high school students.

The Bobcats lineman figures practice will keep athletes at school until 7 p.m. and students will choose more family time over an average of almost three hours of homework each night. And the schedule will no longer work for high school students accustomed to picking up elementary-age siblings after school, Butts noted in an online comment responding to the news.

Reaction was swift to Beaufort County school board’s vote Tuesday to change school start times. Supporters say the later start for older children will improve academics and safety in commuting to and from school.

Beginning next school year, Beaufort County middle and high schools students — except for Hilton Head — will go to school from about 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Elementary schools and schools with pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will go from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Most elementary schools now start at 8:30 a.m. and middle and high schools about 7:30 a.m. Each school will set a specific start time, but they will all be close to the guidelines the board approved Tuesday, district spokesman Jim Foster said.

Hilton Head schools will continue to start at the same time. The high school starts at 8:30 a.m., part of a pilot program started two years ago and lauded by school administrators.

Dale Butts, Nate’s father and a Bluffton coach, doesn’t mind the late start but said the later dismissal could become a concern.

“Athletic teams will most likely be getting early dismissals quite often in order to travel to their away games,” said Butts, who next school year could have a senior at Bluffton High School and a sophomore at the new May River High School.

Beaufort County school board member Joseph Dunkle said concerns come with any change. What might be an inconvenience for some families might be beneficial to others with different schedules, he said.

He pointed to numerous studies showing later start times are better for adolescents.

“I couldn’t find any articles that say anything to the contrary,” Dunkle said Wednesday. “They love it on Hilton Head. It’s just something that will be able to get kids to school a little later, not on the roads when it’s super dark out. Hopefully their brains will be turned on by the time they get to school and be ready to learn.”

Dunkle supports the change but said he wishes the vote had been pushed back to April to give board members more time to gather public feedback. Some board members didn’t initially realize they were voting to change the times, only to endorse the idea, Dunkle said.

The measure passed with a 10-1 vote. Board member Michael Rivers opposed.

The decision sparked chatter from school administrators directing traffic Wednesday as parents lined up along Mossy Oaks Road in Beaufort.

Beaufort resident Lori Mixson waited in the shade in her golf cart waiting for school to let out.

Her daughter, Ryleigh, is a fourth-grader at Mossy Oaks Elementary and son, Preston, is in eighth grade at Beaufort Middle School.

Preston plays baseball and football and has a one-hour study hall before practice. He can use the hour for homework.

Dismissing an hour later, especially during football season, might mean later dinners, Lori said. The family might not eat until 9 p.m. some nights, she said.

Preston was a fan of the later start and extra sleep, his mom said. She envisions protests from Ryleigh over having to leave earlier for school.

The schedule works well now with Lori not working and both children in neighborhood schools.

The situation will be different next year when Preston starts high school. He is zoned for Beaufort High School, but his mom likes the small size and possibilities at Whale Branch Early College High School.

“We’ll make it work,” she said. “We have to.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Change in Beaufort County school start times draws mixed response."