School start times stick

AMHERST – After more than a year of study and discussion, school start times in Amherst and Mont Vernon won’t be changing.

The three SAU 39 school boards last week voted against adopting a recommendation by the Alternative Start Time Study Committee that would have pushed start times in the district’s four schools ahead by 30 minutes, according to Superintendent Mary Jennings.

The vote was split among the three boards, each of which is allowed to cast three votes under the combined district agreement, Jennings said.

The Amherst School Board cast its votes against adopting the recommendation, while the Souhegan Cooperative School Board voted in favor and the Mont Vernon School Board split its votes.

“For this to be adopted, we needed all three districts (school boards) to come away in agreement,” Jennings said, adding that the main reason is because all the schools in the two towns share bus routes.

Unless the matter draws enough interest to reopen talks, Jennings said, next year’s start times will remain the same: 7:30 a.m. for middle and high school students and 8:30 for the elementary schools.

About a year and a half ago, the district formed the Alternative Start Time Study Committee with representatives from the three boards to look deeper into the benefits and potential drawbacks of changing school hours.

After extensive research and deliberations, which included parent, teacher, and student surveys and two public forums, the committee concluded that starting all schools 30 minutes later would bring the most benefit and cause the least disruption for students and parents.

Committee member Mary Lou Mullens said at the time that over the course of its research, the study group learned later start times can help reduce the likelihood of such issues as depression, substance abuse, driver fatigue and dropout rates among adolescents.

“Adolescents’ circadian sleep patterns physically prevent them from going to sleep earlier or waking earlier in the morning, resulting in sleep-deprivation for most teenagers,” the committee reported. “Even one-half hour of additional sleep can significantly affect adolescents’ performance in schools.”

One drawback to later start times, which was brought up by some school officials and students, would be the need to push back after-school activities, particularly club meetings and sports events.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 31, or dshalhoup@nashua telegraph.com.