Kids Pay For Sprawl

Winona Daily 'News' 'reports' below.

Failed to note that this problem results from the policies
of Congressman Gutknekt and the city council.
They have spread the city out along the Mississippi River bluffs.
Which, of course, exacerbates the transport problem.

Also, failed to note that kids learn less when they are sleepy.

Change in start times a compromise

By Kirsten Singleton Winona Daily News

School will start at 7:45 a.m. for Winona's elementary students next fall. Older students will begin class at 9 a.m.

The school board chose start times during Thursday's meeting, continuing the transition from a single-tiered busing system to the two-tiered approach the board approved March 20.

Under the new system, school buses will travel each route twice, once for the younger students and then once for the older group.

The goal of the new busing system is to save the district money - an estimated $650,000 - because there are fewer buses, maintenance costs and drivers. The result, however, is that the school day will start and end at different times for the district's younger and older students.

The board was given three options and picked the middle-of-the-road option. Elementary school students will attend class from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Secondary students will start at 9 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m.

Other options had classes starting 15 minutes earlier and later, but Transportation Coordinator Kari Shiroma said she was worried about those two choices.

Under the first, younger students would be boarding the bus as early as 6:15 a.m., she said.

That's too early, Shiroma said, though, length-wise, it's no different than the current system.

"They currently ride the bus for an hour and 15 minutes, and they will continue to ride the bus for an hour and 15 minutes, simply because of geography," she said.

In the other option, older students would get out of school at 3:45 p.m., which could interfere with after-school activities and jobs, she said.

But board member Natalie Siderius said after-school jobs were a secondary concern. She preferred the first option because it gets younger students to school later, when it's lighter outside.

Fiscal Affairs Director Jeff Seeley said the discussion exemplified why they recommended Option 2 - it was the compromise choice.

"We had these conversations back and forth, pros and cons," Seeley said.

Shiroma noted that there might be some variation - some schools may start 5 or 10 minutes before or after others.

But, she said, "This would be the base, and it wouldn't vary much from that."

Contact reporter Kirsten Singleton at ksingleton@winonadailynews.com or 453-3511.

Sprawl | June 2003