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These are proposed. They'll let us know before the year starts. Which is in less than three months.

OK

Actually my new job this year was at a district where high school starts really early, but is out at 2:50. I love having more of my day free. The students love that they have meaningful time for jobs after school and/or get home to watch younger siblings who have the later start and release times.

This will put more of a burden on teachers and students and staff and bus drivers. Think about travel for UIL events. I doubt game times are pushed back, so kids will have to miss even more classes when they travel and subs will be needed longer for coaches leaving their class rooms. Bus riders won't get home until 5 or later so what time do bus drivers get home? If they'd offer a 0 hour for JR & SR's this might be okay. Where do the elementary kids go after school while their parent is still teaching a high school class? I really dislike the BISD admin, but y'all know that by now. By cutting back from 3 bus routes to 2 they save money. They have to save money because they can't afford the 2 new schools getting ready to open. Of course this will be the state's fault.

While research shows teens learn better later in the day, the schools up here realize that many families need those older children home first to watch the elementary kids--other wise parents might just leave them home alone. And as you mentioned the high school teachers with young children need to be able to pick them up. Plus after school practices will run even later. I don't think they really thought this one through.

Yep. The unintended consequence will be skyrocketing school related absences. Been there and done that. Kids that are heavily involved in sports and extracurriculars will miss tons of their afternoon classes.

This is officially happening. Emails started going out yesterday.

Of course, they could just have their sports / band/ extracurricular activities period be the last period of the day...

I asked my daughter why varsity soccer didn't do this. JV does. Varsity practices 4th period and that goes into lunch and study hall so they were with the head coach the whole time. But the varsity girls are getting a new head coach so that might change. I think football practices in the morning, at least they did with Shipley. The band director would keep kids until 8 in the evening so now until 8:30? But yes, if all varsity sports had the last class, that's one less academic class missed while traveling for out of town games.

A lot of coaches want the class early due to conditioning. They want them to have time to recover before after school practice, even if they are so drained they can't learn in the academic classes in between.

Then those coaches need a reorganization of priorities. Academics should be prioritized above athletics. It is more complicated than that, I know.

BISD needs a reorganization of priorities. They spend more on athletics than other ISD's in the area. Some of that could be "repurposed ". They spend more than any ISD in the region on transportation, buses. I blame that in busing kids from new tech to BHS. Did you know it takes a whole bus to drop off 6 kids at the 9th grade building from NT? NT parents get a "private school " environment on the back of taxpayers ...I'm with Pablo, shut that crap down and force kids and parents to assimilate.

What do they bus them back and forth for? Sports, fine arts stuff? I don't think shutting it down is necessary, but just separate the schools completely if they aren't already. If you want to go there, you need to understand you don't have access to certain extracurricular activities.

Correct. They bus them back and forth from BHS/BNT for extracurriculars I know for a fact. Had a nephew graduate BNT this year and he was bussed back for athletics I know for a fact.

I find it odd they can compete in UIL activities for one school, BHS, but their diploma, class rank, etc, comes from another school, BNT....

It's some kind of special waiver from UIL and I agree, if they want to go there, they need to understand it's different from BHS but I'd imagine if the precious children couldn't participate in big school opportunities, the enrollment would suffer and BHS would be more crowded? When the new hs opens, new tech will no longer have it's own campus ID# and they will combine rankings with BHS. So no more of their own salutatorian/valedictorian.

Edit to add, they bus for a lot of CTE stuff as well.

I see this morning where the teachers, nurses, and Belton Supt. all got a raise this coming year.

Happy for the teachers and nurses as I am sure it is due. As for the Supt, dont know her or what kind of job she's done but I know I'd like a raise of that magnitude.

The raise is 2% of the mid year point in salary. Up to $1200. So $100/month max based on highest paid position. Kisd just gave a district wide 2% raise. Bisd is just being the "Jones". Both are barely cost of living raises.

And both still have Central Texas way behind what is being paid in both major metro areas. Having made the move this year, yes cost of living is higher, but NOT enough to justify the pay difference, especially for experienced teacher. Even at the lower levels of the scale it is about a thousand a month more, and at the top end, about 1500 a month. Add to that, average salary impacts retirement, so I now find it hard to understand how schools in the area can recruit anyone who is not a native that just does not want to move.

TISD just gave a 3% at mid point raise. I understand these are lower than metropolitan isd's but starting salaries for teachers in the Killeen/Belton/Temple metroplex hover around $47k for teachers, nurses, librarians. I have out of touch friends that believe they start at $28k...Our local isd's are trying to out do one another. Unfortunately bisd is the only isd with a maxed out M&O rate. Others can ask tax payers when they need to increase salaries above their means. BISD cannot. WTH this has to do with new bell schedules, I have no idea. Other than what fits your needs and life. Money drives most.

Crusaders41 said:

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I see this morning where the teachers, nurses, and Belton Supt. all got a raise this coming year.

Happy for the teachers and nurses as I am sure it is due. As for the Supt, dont know her or what kind of job she's done but I know I'd like a raise of that magnitude.

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She got a 2% raise last year, along with all isd employees. They wanted to give her a 10% raise, $20k... she felt it wasn't ok to take more than 2% even though her salary has increased 35% from the day she was anointed to position.

The state minimum is 28 and change. Many of the smaller districts in Central Texas still pay just a small amount over that so they can claim they are above state minimums. Some of the larger districts are higher, but have tiny steps for raises about that starting pay.

The district I left starts at 34,000. Kennedale for example, a smaller one high school metro district. starts at 51,000. Granted this had nothing to do with start times, but in a longer view I can see the Central Texas schools having increasing difficulty getting and keeping teachers.

I think the connection to start times is that IF you are not competitive in salary, and trying to recruit statewide, then you have to make other things about the job attractive. Right now I really like that at 2:50 our last bell rings and I have meaningful time left in the day. I don't mind at all being at school at six thirty for tutorial time and we start the day with kids at 7:20. It also lets our high school kids, and I teach where many help support family, have time for after school jobs. My official day is 7:05 to 3:05. I am usually there way early and stay later, but when I need to have an appointment I can usually do it without have to use annual leave and taking a day off. That is a nice extra--and what I mean about providing non salary incentives.

This late start for the older kids means none of that will be available for high school teachers.