Five Catholic Schools in Halton Will Have Different Start and End Times Come September

Published August 2, 2019 at 12:00 pm

Although some students and staff may not want to think about it quite yet, the 2019-20 school year is quickly approaching.

Although some students and staff may not want to think about it quite yet, the 2019-20 school year is quickly approaching. In fact, now that it’s August, the upcoming school year is just about one month away. And some schools within the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) will see some changes regarding start and end times come September.

According to Frederick Thibeault, Senior Manager, Planning Services, HCDSB, five schools within the board will have different start and end times starting this upcoming school year.

“As a result of the annual Bell Time Efficiency Study, conducted by Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS), five of our schools will have changes to their start and dismissal times, beginning September 2019,” Thibeault said via email.

These five schools and their new start and end times are outlined in the graphic, courtesy of Thibeault, below.

 

Four out of the five changes were made in order to increase bus route efficiencies which, as noted by Thibeault, has resulted in substantial cost savings.

The fifth change, which was made to Bishop Reding Catholic Secondary School, was a result of the extension of the school day that added a fifth period to accommodate the increasing number of students. 

According to an HCDSB regular board meeting information report, the proposed changes outlined above were approved on May 13, 2019.

As noted in the report, the preliminary budget for the HCDSB’s transportation budget was about $9,475,914 before route planning for the upcoming school year was completed. After the planning was completed, it was discovered that 21 new buses were required across the region with an estimated cost of $1,204,333 per year. 

This additional cost, according to the report, would be split between the HCDSB and the Halton District School Board (HDSB) – 42 per cent for the HCDSB and 58 per cent for the HDSB – which presents a cost of $505,819 to the HCDSB.

However, with the new start and end time changes, the number of new buses required was brought down to six, which results in an annual savings of $865,960 between both boards per year with the HCDSB saving $363,703.

Are you happy with these time changes?

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