Petition hopes to ‘stop’ change to bell times at Hamilton public schools

A petition making a push to get Hamilton’s two school boards to rethink a recent change in bell times is closing in on 1,000 signatures.

The “stop the new bell times” campaign suggests decisions made in March to change the start and end times at both Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDBS) and Catholic (HWCDSB) facilities will affect students’ sleep patterns and increase child care costs for some parents.

“We weren’t asked if we agreed to rousing teenagers from desperately needed sleep at 6:30 in the morning for that 8:00 a.m. bell,” the petition’s architect, Tina Moffat, said in a post.

“Elementary school parents weren’t consulted about potentially paying for extra before-school childcare to accommodate this secret deal.”

The petition accuses the school boards of “fixing” the school bus shortage problem without any consideration for what’s “best for our kids and their families.”

Hamilton’s public school boards released the new schedule in March, changing bell times to compensate for school bus shortages.

The alterations were adopted from recommendations in a 2019 joint board study that suggested the changes would reduce costs and create more efficient routes.

1:53 Ontario school boards doubt outdoor graduations possible this late in school year

• Ontario school boards doubt outdoor graduations possible this late in school year
• Ontario schools remain closed until September
• Students will not return to in-person learning for remainder of Ontario school year
• Ontario students won’t be back in the classroom this school year

Previous Video

Next Video

In September, 37 public and 33 Catholic schools will see the new start and end times with HWDSB secondary schools beginning as early as 8 a.m.

“My child is impacted and this is a business decision and not one based on good science,” and “Saving money on busing is not a good enough reason to change bell times,” are just a couple of posts from parents in the online petition.

HWDSB spokespeople told Global News that they have been listening to the community on this issue and said the September changes included consultations with parents to address the shortages.

“Our families and students have made it very clear that we need to address our school bus driver shortage,” HWDSB chair Dawn Danko said in a statement.

“Conducting a bell times study was an important way to find efficiencies in student transportation in collaboration with our coterminous board.”

A spokesperson for the HWCDSB says one concern with the petition is that the board has no way of knowing whether any of the signatures represent parents in their system.

“We regret any time a decision impacts a family, but 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. This is the way that had the least impact,” HWCDSB chair Pat Daly said in a statement.