HOLLISTON, Mass. — It's a debate that's happening around the country: What time should students start school? Well in Holliston, hundreds of parents are fighting for a later start time.
Drive in to Holliston on Monday night and parents are talking about one thing, a special town meeting.
In May, the school committee voted unanimously to switch start times for older and younger students to address sleep needs for children. Starting next school year, older students will start 40 minutes later and younger students will start 40 minutes earlier.
"We don't want dark bus stops," said 9-year-old Oliver Nielsen.
Parents say one of their biggest concerns with these new start times is some of their elementary age students will have to wait at bus stops near traffic while it’s still dark outside.
"These guys came with me to do a test run of the times they will be at the dark bus stop and it was kind of scary and I did feel really unsafe," said Kate Nielsen. "They were not happy, I was not happy, so I'm hoping we can make some changes and go back to the table here."
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Parents sat at the table and filled the auditorium to voice their opinions.
"There are other cost-neutral options," said Carrie Marsh, a parent. "I don't have kids at bus stops before sunrise. One of [the options] is to move all schools forward 20 minutes."
"Be creative with the space that we have," added Kate Nielsen. "And potentially having all of the elementary students being dismissed at the same time."
But their wish could be held up by a lack of clarity on the costs to make the changes.
"No one really knows the answer yet," said Dr. Ken Szajda, the Finance Committee Chairman when asked what potential financial charges could come from the changes. "And that's a problem from our perspective because when you think about it from the financial side the default answer is no. It's a no, until you can prove to us that there is a value or that the costs are accurate."
But for some families, it's very clear
"It's hard to wake up kids that early," Marsh said. "And they are cranky, they are going to have meltdowns, it's not going to be fun. It's going to affect their learning."
"I don't think it safe walking on the street in the dark because cars may not see you when it's really dark," Oliver Nielsen said.
Monday night’s vote was non-binding. Even though the public has made their opinion known, it is now up to the school board to decide if they want to listen.