Some District 196 schools to see adjusted start times amid bus driver shortage
Families in one of Minnesota's largest school districts will need to change their routines after the school board decided to shift start times.
District 196 — Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools — is making the adjustment to help address a bus driver shortage. District leaders say these changes help balance their three-tier bus system, spreading routes more evenly so they can be properly staffed. It's part of a larger plan to stabilize transportation.
Parents came out to Monday night's school board meeting, passionately pleading with the board to find another option. But in the end, the decision was unanimous. Nearly 2,000 elementary and middle school students will be waking up earlier to catch the bus this fall.
Starting in the 2027-2028 school year, two elementary schools — Woodland and East Lake — will now start at 7:45 a.m. instead of 9:30 a.m.
Valley Middle School of STEM will also adjust to an 8:20 a.m. start time, bringing it in line with other middle schools in the district.
The shifted start times are just the start of the solution.
Parents with students at any school in the district will now have to opt in for transportation services. The district will also make targeted reductions to magnet schools to reduce the complexity of cross-district busing. Lastly, the district will ensure special education learners stay closer to their neighborhood schools.
Parents raised concerns about the ripple effects this will have, including one mother who said bus changes mean she may have to send her daughter to a new school.
"It's not an option to take all this support system away from her. Her teachers, her students, her other classmates, the other parents that have now gotten involved since she's gone through this tragedy of loss. All that would be taken from her," the mother said.
The district said it understands the concern, but also said it is trying to make the best of a difficult decision.
"It is a difficult trade-off, but these changes are needed to ensure that all students have reliable transportation to school every day," District 196 Director of Finance Christopher Onyango-Robshaw said. "We recognize for some families, the reduction in transportation will mean a need to change schools. We believe all our schools are equally excellent across the district."
District leaders say they know earlier start times won't work for everyone, but they believe these changes are the best path forward to keep buses running consistently.
