Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A. 804.639.8914 [email protected]

Executive Director of School Administration

Instruction Department

DATE:

September 14, 2016

TO:

Dr. James F. Lane Superintendent

FROM:

Dr. Thomas W. Taylor Executive Director of School Administration

CC:

School Operating Times Work Group – Donna Dalton, Dr. Rachel Foglesong, Warren Grigg, Susan Newton, Dr. Sharon Pope, Chris Sorensen, Dr. Thomas Taylor, Dr. Joe Tylus, Dr. Robert Wingfield, and Linda Wood

RE:

Analysis of School Operating Times

BACKGROUND A work group of key department heads and division leaders was established and met to analyze potential changes to school operating times. The work group assessed operational times in regard to teaching, learning, and wellness and then benchmarked options against logistical feasibility and the cost of implementation as well as ongoing expense. Our current school day begins with high schools starting at 7:20 AM and the school day ends with elementary schools at 3:45 PM. Students are transported on three bus runs, with pick up beginning as early as 5:45 AM in some remote areas. The current operating schedule for each group of bus runs is as follows:

Bus Run

SCHOOLS

START

END

Schedule 1

High Schools HS Specialty Centers

7:20 AM

1:50 PM

Schedule 1A

Middle Schools 1 (Carver, Providence, Salem, Swift Creek)

7:35 AM

2:05 PM

Schedule 2

Middle Schools 2 Elementary 1 Specialty Programs

8:25 AM

2:55 PM

Schedule 3

Elementary 2 Specialty Programs

9:15 AM

3:45 PM

James F. Lane, Ed.D. Superintendent

13900 Hull Street Road Midlothian, VA 23112

mychesterfieldschools.com an equal opportunity employer

Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A. 804.639.8914 [email protected]

Executive Director of School Administration

Instruction Department

OPTIMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT In the context of providing an optimal environment for student learning and wellness, the work group unilaterally agreed that an ideal scenario would have no school begin prior to 8:00 AM and that dismissal would ideally not occur after 4:00 PM. This timeframe was presumed to have the most positive impact on student and staff wellness. The work group agreed that if logistical and financial limitations were not a factor, there remains several logistical and wellness advantages in having elementary schools start in the earliest group and middle schools end in the last group of operational times. The projected cost models below detail scenarios for operational times starting at 8:00 AM and ending at 4:00 PM.

TABLE A

First Group 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM

Second Group 8:45 AM – 3:15 PM

Third Group 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Buses Needed

Year 1 Cost (Millions)

Annual Operating Expense (Millions)

Potential Option 1

All HS MS (Group 1)

MS (Group 2) ES (Group 1)

ES (Group 2)

107

$14.3M

$5.2M

Potential Option 2

ES (Group 1)

ES (Group 2) MS (Group 1)

All HS MS (Group 2)

134

$17.9M

$6.5M

Potential Option 3

ES (Group 1)

All HS ES (Group 2)

All MS

144

$19.3M

$7M

The above cost models assume the purchase of buses rather than lease expense. Annual operating expenses in this model include but are not limited to: driver salaries, fuel, maintenance, and support. These costs do not include capitalization. Additionally, leasing buses would increase annual operating costs, while dramatically reducing initial costs. LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES/LIMITATIONS The work group would ideally like to see the same start time for all levels (8:00 AM arrival, 3:30 PM dismissal); however, this option is neither logistically nor financially viable, as it would require the doubling of our current daily fleet, requiring the purchase or lease of over five hundred new buses and annual operating cost increases of over $50Million. Another alternative explored by the work group was the possibility of having all elementary schools serviced by one bus run, rather than splitting elementary bus runs into two groups. The cost of this model is detailed as below:

TABLE B

2 bus runs total between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM All Elementary Schools in one bus run; all High School and Middle School in a separate bus run

James F. Lane, Ed.D. Superintendent

Buses Needed

Year 1 Cost (Millions)

Annual Operating Expense (Millions)

298

$39.6M

$14.4M

13900 Hull Street Road Midlothian, VA 23112

mychesterfieldschools.com an equal opportunity employer

Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A. 804.639.8914 [email protected]

Executive Director of School Administration

Instruction Department

Beyond the financial hurdles and daily logistical challenges associated with changes to operational times, the implementation time for any of the above proposals would be approximately eighteen months. The length of implementation is directly tied to obstacles in the physical procurement of an adequate number of buses and drivers to service the needs outlined in each option. There is no option for volume discounts due to the scarcity of buses in production and licensed bus drivers in the market. To ameliorate the logistical and financial challenges associated with the massive addition of more buses and drivers needed for the tightened time frame of 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the work group explored other more viable options for the short term as capacity is built over time for a more long range solution. The proposed potential change to the operational schedule outlined below would have a relatively minimal budget impact as compared to other proposals.

TABLE C

Operating Schedule

Buses Needed

Year 1 Cost (Millions)

Annual Operating Expense (Millions)

Potential Option Short Term*

7:45 AM – 4:00 PM

21

$2.8M

$1M

*Through operational efficiencies in scheduling within the Transportation Department, 10 minutes was saved and there is no loss to instructional time in this model.

The above cost model assumes the same order of bus runs (starting with high school, followed by middle/elementary, and ending with the rest of the elementary schools). Changing the order of bus runs at this time would have a significant financial impact and cause a cascade of other logistical concerns, disrupting existing regional program schedules (Governor’s school, special education day treatment, and extracurricular activities). This model also assumes current structures within the transportation department remaining intact as they are operating currently, where modifications to existing structures of route planning may be revisited, creating the opportunity for potential cost savings. RECOMMENDATION If the Board moves forward with changes in operational times, it is the recommendation of the School Operating Times Work Group that the Board pursue incremental modification over time. The work group also recommends that the Board consider starting with the option that initiates the least initial impact logistically and financially in the first year of incremental change. An adjustment to our existing schedule by twenty-five (25) minutes at the start of the school day and an adjustment of fifteen (15) minutes at the end of the school day would have the most cost effective and meaningful impact, given our constraints. The recommended shift would entail a move of the earliest start time from 7:20 AM to 7:45 AM at high schools and a move of the latest dismissal time from 3:45 PM to 4:00 PM for the second group of elementary schools. This proposed delay in start times would provide the benefit of getting closer to our optimal schedule with a minimal financial and logistical impact, as compared to other proposals. The estimated cost of this proposal is $2.8Million for the first year of implementation and an additional $1Million in the annual operating budget every year thereafter in 2016 valued dollars. These costs are in addition to the pre-existing budget efforts associated with the continuation of existing transportation services and these costs are not representative of bus capitalization over time. James F. Lane, Ed.D. Superintendent

13900 Hull Street Road Midlothian, VA 23112

mychesterfieldschools.com an equal opportunity employer

Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A. 804.639.8914 [email protected]

Executive Director of School Administration

Instruction Department

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS Since buses and other vehicles are depreciating assets, it is recommended that a lease/buy study of the total cost of ownership for our bus fleet be conducted. Not factored into the initial costs of all of the proposals mentioned above are the true costs associated with forecasting replacements. Conducting an assessment of the value of our bus fleet and the forecasting capitalization costs associated with bus replacement and measuring that cost against the annual expense of leasing may reveal potential opportunities for savings. Since bus routes are scheduled by hand, it is recommend that bus route scheduling software be evaluated for purchase with the expectation of using the bus route scheduling software to eliminate human error in determining the most efficient routes and to reduce excess capacity. A reduction in excess capacity may produce a savings that could be applied to offset the expense of implementing changes to operational times. Since a portion of the bus fleet is used solely for replacement, substitute, and special purposes, it is recommended that the fleet be evaluated for maintenance liability and also excess capacity. Excess capacity and high maintenance liability buses could be surplused at their residual value and the savings could be applied to offset the expense of implementing changes to operational times.

James F. Lane, Ed.D. Superintendent

13900 Hull Street Road Midlothian, VA 23112

mychesterfieldschools.com an equal opportunity employer