The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County tonight approved a shift in school start and dismissal times for the 2017-2018 school year, endorsing a plan that will start high schools at 7:30 a.m. instead of the current 7:17 a.m.
The plan, approved by a 6-2 vote, calls for elementary, middle, and special schools to start 15 minutes later than they begin in the current year. Dismissal times would shift by the same amounts.
The shift will require the purchase of 10 additional buses, and will cost approximately $618,000, which was included within the FY2016 approved Operating Budget.
The changes do not necessary alter start and dismissal times at Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School, Monarch Academy Public Charter School, and Monarch Global Contract School. Those schools are responsible for their own transportation arrangements and therefore can establish their own start and dismissal times.
A complete list of new start and dismissal times for all schools in the county will be published later this year.