Five minutes may not seem like a lot of time to most people, but to a high school student, it could mean the difference between making it to homeroom on time and receiving yet another tardy.  For the 2014-2015 school year, Walpole High School’s teens must adjust to a new start time–a time which commences their day five minutes earlier.  Having to be in homeroom by 7:14 every morning may upset some students, but what most do not see is the underlying cause for the alteration: the five minute change stems from a bigger plan to save money for the Walpole Public School System.

When dealing with a budget shortfall, administrators agreed that the strategy to save money for the schools lied within the bus transportation system.  In past years, the school bus system split the public schools into three separate divisions: the High School and Middle Schools together, Fisher School and Boyden together, and lastly, Old Post Road and Elm Street together.  These three tiers indicated which students rode together both to and from school every day.  Therefore, for example, Middle School students accompanied High Schoolers on the buses for the duration of the school year.

When assessing what actions could be taken, Superintendent Lincoln Lynch orchestrated the plan to transform the three tiers into four by allowing the middle schools to acquire their own unit–meaning middle school students would no longer ride with high schoolers.

“My job as Superintendent is to create options,” said Lynch, “and so I presented my idea to the school committee. I was glad to hear they thought it was a great idea too.”

By making this change, only 16 buses would be needed as opposed to the 18 necessary in past years. With the elimination of two buses — the transfer buses — from rotation this year, the school system will save a total of $120,000 ($60,000 per bus).  Lynch said, “To avoid cutting services to kids, materials, or teachers, we decided reducing the number of buses would be most effective.”

Previously, following their 2:05 release, high school students who took the bus home had to take either of the transfer buses to Johnson Middle School or to Bird Middle School.  From there, these students joined middle schoolers on whichever bus was designated for their neighborhood.

Rather than following this arrangement, the buses now all arrive at WHS after school and drive the students directly home.  Likewise, once Middle School students are released later in the afternoon, the buses also pick them up and bring them home.  Not only does the change affect the afternoon bus routine, but also the morning procedure as well.   In the morning, the buses now pick up all the high school students, bring them to school, and then proceed to pick up the middle schools and bring them to school.  Afterwards, the buses continue on to the elementary schools like they did in the past.

With the organization adjustment, the start and finish times for the Middle Schools and High School shifted too.  Johnson and Bird Middle Schools begin 10 minutes later; the High School, 5 minutes earlier.  The extra time provided in the morning allows the buses sufficient time to pick up and drop off the students.

Already two months into the 2014-2015 school year, administrators have received little negative feedback in response to the adjusted school bus transportation system.  While the change may force kids from their warm beds 5 or 10 minutes earlier than last year, senior Marie Kelland said, “Five minutes isn’t that much of a change, and the bus ride is actually shorter now.”

Rather than cutting teachers or student resources, the $120,000 saved will be used to alleviate budget constraints of the Walpole Public School System.  When looking ahead and acknowledging the potential of future budget obstacles, Lynch said, “ We will always be committed to making changes that will benefit the most people.”