Local school district changes bell schedule. Here’s what that means for families
Students and parents in the Puyallup School District should expect a slight change in their schools’ start and end times this fall.
The Puyallup School Board unanimously voted during a school board meeting Wednesday to tweak the bell schedule for the coming school year.
The school board created the Bell Time Task Force in late 2022 to present new bell schedules for the 2023-24 school year to help address the shortage of bus drivers. The task force is made up of school staff, families and students.
Vince Pecchia, the Bell Time Task Force lead, presented three options to the school board during the April 5 meeting. They chose the third option, which had minimal impact compared to the current bell schedule.
The current bell schedule requires junior high schools to start between 7:20 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. The new bell time model would push students’ start and end times between five to ten minutes later.
High schools start between 7:50 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. under the current bell schedule. The new bell time model would push students’ start and end times between 10 to 35 minutes later.
Elementary schools start between 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. under the current bell schedule. The new bell time model would divide elementary schools into two groups — an early and a late group.
The early group, under the new bell time model, would push some students’ start and end times 10-20 minutes later and others 10-40 minutes earlier. Elementary schools in this group include Carson, Firgrove, Fruitland, Hunt, Maplewood, Woodland, and Mountain View.
The late group, under the new bell time model, would push students’ start and end times 15 to an hour and 15 minutes later. Elementary schools in this group include Brouillet, Dessie Evans, Edgerton, Karshner, Meeker, Northwood, Pope, Ridgecrest, Shaw Road, Spinning, Stewart, Sunrise, Waller Road, Wildwood, and Zeiger.
Rogers High student representative Cimerra Killian said during the April 5 meeting that students who participate in sports are “pretty upset” that the current bell schedule will change, but that it’s an adjustment they’ll have to make.
“This doesn’t feel good to a lot of families — adjusting to a new bell time schedule … but this is what is going to keep us sustainable,” school board member Maddie Names said during the meeting.
The News Tribune reported in March that the school district has 168 buses, 112 bus drivers and 106 routes. The new bell time model is projected to require about 110 drivers.
