Not a done deal. Not sure where I stand on the issue yet but I do know I will: avoid expressing a knee jerk, emotional reaction. I will talk about it, think through and write down a list of the pros and cons. Talk some more and try to stay open to the bigger educational picture. Then I will decide and voice my opinion accordingly.

i don't think it will cause a huge conflict. If anything, it may give the younger children in elementary a few extra minutes to sleep in. If it will save the district money and enable the schools to assist with education and other important programs then i'm all for it.

From our Facebook Page: Monica Graham Anderson For all the panicked buzz I heard before this proposal went public, I am shocked by the lack of commentary from people now. While this plan is not perfect, I appreciate Dr. Mannarino's desire to be proactive and think outside the box in an effort to avoid cutting the quality of our kids education and programming.

More from our Facebook page: Melissa Doerfler Neidhardt I would have to send my boys, (K and 1st grade) to bed at 7 to get them up at 6 to get to the bus stop on time. Not sure I'm liking the possibility of the change.

My concern would be for the students in the morning program and/or the afternoon program. Both programs are so-so at best. For working parents who still have to be at work by 8, their children would still be dropped off at 7:15 or so. At McIntyre or Ross, that would be two complete hours before school began. On the flip side, for parents picking up after 5 PM, that would be two or more hours at Highcliff and West View. There aren't enough of activities or supervision for an additional 30 minutes spent there.

A half million in savings and less traffic headaches for people who live in the Gardens.... WIN!

I think it is a brilliant innovative way of thinking and it just shows the quality of person we now have in the Superintendent position in North Hills. Sure parents will have to work around different schedules, but maybe it's time to make Mr. Food be a little more flexible with the morning program hours.

I appreciate that Superintendent Mannarino is attempting to solve this fiscal problem in a creative way. However, I understand that studies have shown that Senior High School students woud be much better prepared for a day of classes if they could start later in the day, not earlier. I hope that the school board finds and references these studies, & that they use them in their decision making. I must add that if I still had children in high school I would be totally opposed to such an early start time. I would like to hear other alternatives to the decline in government funding.

What this article doesn't tell you is that they are also going to eliminate homeroom, shorten lunch to 30 minutes, and reduce time between classes to 4 minutes. My kids used to get tutoring help from teachers during lunch and homeroom, and they also utlized that time to find out what work they missed from absences. I don't think this part of the plan makes much sense. I have also heard of the studies mentioned above that show high school students do better when the start LATER, rather than earlier.

It may not be important to a lot of people but what about the kids that go to McIntyre and Ross that are involved in sports. Many of them have practices starting at 5pm which is already difficult to get to with the existing schedule now they will be even more pressed for time. The school district may not be concern with our children's extra curricular activities but, it is an important factor in the lives of our children.

I don't live in the district but I'm reading great comments from community members on a complicated subject. Tough times in education throughout the state, great to see people working on the problem instead of bashing every district decision.