By Heather Graves
Correspondent

GREEN BAY – The district is now looking to the community for opinions on school start times with a survey that begins today.

Board members got an update from the School Start Time Task Force by Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 7 (CESA 7) representatives who are heading up the task force, at their meeting Monday, Sept. 16.

The task force committee is meant to, without bias, recommend to the board of education school start times that coincide with research and subsidiary issues.

The task force was created after the district received several requests from the school community, including ones from Board Member Rhonda Sitnikau and members of the Green Bay Area Public Schools Intra-City Student Council (ICSC).

Over the last several months, the task force – made up of parents, teachers, students, school board members and community members – has been looking into whether the Green Bay Area Public School District should alter school start times, as well as identifying the various impacts of modifying those times.

Some of the challenges of changing start times include extracurricular activities, food service, family schedules, students with jobs and transportation.

Currently, school start times vary throughout the district, ranging from 7:30 to 8:57 a.m.

The next step is a district-wide survey, which was sent out by direct email on Monday, Sept. 23.

A link will also be posted on various district websites.

Participants will get one submission per device and have until 11:59 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 to participate.

The survey is directed toward four audiences – all district staff, parents, students and bus drivers.

The survey will be available in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somalia.

The results of the survey will be used to help the task force to formulate driving questions for Scenario Feedback Sessions and assist in the final recommendation to the board.

The Scenario Feedback Sessions will be held with staff, ICSC and the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council and are meant to garner more specific feedback from stakeholders based off survey results.

These sessions are expected to be held in late October or early November.

A final report from the task force is expected in December.

From there, the board and district administration will use the study to make decisions on school start times for the 2021-22 school year.

“How this came up – is it’s because it’s what is best for kids,” said Trustee Kristina Shelton. “I thought it was great that the group (the task force) kept coming back to ‘We can solve these issues because it’s best for kids.’”