PENDER COUNTY — Schools on the east side of Pender County will move to a staggered bell schedule next school year after the board of education voted to approve the measure on Tuesday.
READ MORE: PCS considers going back on book policy, talks bell schedule and K-8 naming
A three-tiered schedule, which divides the district into three different start times for elementary, middle and high schools, has been controversial since its first introduction to the district in 2022.
It remained so on Tuesday, as board members David Spivey and Don Hall voted against the adoption for a staggered schedule on the county’s east side; Jennifer Hansen and Tom Reeves voted for it. Chair Beth Burns struck the deciding vote in favor of the new schedule.
“This proposal will allow us to transition to a bell schedule with many benefits, such as improving safety on our campuses, reducing the impact of excessive traffic in our communities, and help reduce the impact on our limited resources,” Assistant Superintendent Kevin Taylor said.
The schedule has been attached to the district’s transportation woes, including double and triple routes due to the lack of bus drivers. By starting the school day at different times, it will alleviate 12 double routes on the east side and the traffic congestion associated with getting students to school on time.
The district has 25 double routes this school year, up from 12 three years ago, and ridership has grown by 107 students.
This problem is concentrated on the east side, where the county’s population is higher, so it affected schools include:
- North Topsail Elementary
- South Topsail Elementary
- Surf City Elementary
- Topsail Annandale Elementary
- Surf City Middle
- Topsail Middle
- Topsail High
The board could have implemented the schedule across the entire district but deemed it unnecessary for the west side, where it would actually create 11 double routes.
The schedule will also include the new K-8 campus, J.H. Lea Elementary School and J.H. Lea Middle School, expected to open in fall of 2027. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has told the school district that the campus needed a staggered schedule for the state agency to approve its driveway permit extending from N.C. Highway 210.
The schedule is as follows:
- HIGH SCHOOL
- BUS ARRIVAL 6:50 AM
- AM BELL 7:10
- PM BELL 2:05
- EARLY RELEASE 11:1
- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- BUS ARRIVAL 7:25
- AM BELL 7:55
- PM BELL 2:50
- EARLY RELEASE 11:55
- MIDDLE SCHOOL
- BUS ARRIVAL 8:10
- AM BELL 8:40
- PM BELL 3:35
- EARLY RELEASE 12:40
Hall and Spivey didn’t speak to the reasons for their dissenting vote on Tuesday, though in the past they’ve expressed reservations based on the feedback garnered from the public. The three-tiered schedule is largely unpopular among parents whose concerns included the school schedule aligning with their work schedule, earlier pick-ups and later drop-offs for students that have extracurriculars and homework to think of, and alignment with the community college schedule for dual-enrolled students.
In his remarks Tuesday, Taylor assured the public those concerns would still be monitored and dealt with, while also pointing out other school districts have had success with a tiered model. This includes Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Cumberland.
“I just don’t feel like we can look in the rearview mirror anymore,” Hansen said Tuesday. “We need to look to the future of what can be done and what success looks like for each and every student in our district.”
Reeves agreed, also noting the work the district has put into developing the best version of the staggered system it can.
“This wasn’t just a fly by night decision,” Reeves said. “But I do believe this schedule is the best we can do. Is it perfect? No, but I do believe the best we can do.”
Pender County Schools has been considering a three-tiered schedule for three years. In 2023, the board voted to adopt putting the entire district under a three-tiered schedule, but walked it back four days before it was supposed to take effect.
The following year staff conducted a survey on three options for the bell schedule; the most popular only received 37.7% of approval. The middle schools would start the earliest at 7:30 a.m., elementary kids to follow at 8:15 a.m. and high school at 9 a.m. Though this option caused problems, particularly with AP and college-course students, and was scrapped again.
The topic came up again when NCDOT told the district it could withhold a driveway permit without a staggered schedule at the K-8 school last year in September 2024.
Under Taylor’s initial proposal for this year, middle schools would have started first at 7:30 a.m., followed by high schools at 8:15 a.m., and elementary schools at 9 a.m., ensuring “older siblings would be at the home when the youngest students are arriving home from school,” according to Taylor.
Board members expressed concerns about starting so late, especially for student athletes that have to leave early for evening away games. Taylor also said high schools also couldn’t start first because each school covers a larger swath of students, bus pick-up times would be closer to 5 a.m., 41 minutes before the earliest time now. However, that stance has changed with the adopted schedule.
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