Bell times will change this fall at many Hamilton schools — here's why some parents aren't happy

Tina Moffat says she had one question when Hamilton school boards announced they would change some school bell times this September.

"Are you kidding?" she said.

Moffat and other families signed a petition asking for another solution, citing concerns about students' health.

It comes as Hamilton's public and Catholic school boards have been wrestling with a bus driver shortage for years.

Both school boards conducted a study that found by adjusting bell times, they could drop 40 buses and avoid late pickups and drop-offs.

There are 37 public and 33 Catholic schools with changed times that come into effect in September.

Concerns about lack of sleep, breakfast

Moffat said she worries her son, 15, won't get enough sleep now that Westdale Secondary School will start and end 35 minutes earlier.

She also said she is concerned her son and other students will miss out on breakfast, all of which could have an impact on their learning.

"We're just coming off this pandemic with all the mental health issues students have been experiencing ... and it's fair to say a lot of students are going to be behind due to the online learning."

The petition calls on school boards to either create a new schedule that sets morning bell times earlier for elementary school and later for high school or make a schedule with the previous morning bell times for high schools.

Pat Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, said only three of the 37 schools in the Catholic board with bell time changes were high schools. All of them were moved to no more than 10 minutes earlier.

He said it would be impossible for the Catholic board to change courses now.

"We regret any time a decision impacts a family, but what I would say, there was a need to find efficiencies to mitigate against the bus driver shortage and the cost increases we were going to realize as a result of the new bus contracts," he said.

"This is the way that had the least impact."

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) declined an interview and pointed to a previously released statement from chair Dawn Danko.

"Our students will no longer be delayed in getting to school or their home. Our students deserve to arrive on time. We thank families for their understanding as we navigate through these changes in bell times and as new family routines emerge," Danko said.