Safety first? Adjust school start times

I take offense at the My Word headline “Orange County schools take student safety seriously” in Monday’s Sentinel. No, I don’t think that is true. Our students face many dangers every day, not just those of gun violence.

Now that daylight-saving time has once again started, thousands of our children head out to their school or bus in the pitch black of early morning, often without streetlights or other precautions to assure their arriving safely. Since we cannot do anything to undo this time change, we can and must adjust the start time of our high schools so that no child is a victim of a vehicular accident.

This issue has been in the news often, but the School Board refuses to act or even come up with a logical, good excuse for not doing this. The board’s lame reason: money. Athletic practices can be held before class when the students arrange for their own transportation. Parents need to make other arrangements for child care for younger siblings. Yet there is plenty of money for other less-important things.

As a retired teacher of 39 years, I have seen the sad results of adolescents coming to school without adequate rest. They fall asleep or are not fully awake in first period, and they’re not motivated to learn.

Please, Chairman Bill Sublette and your cronies on the School Board, take action and ensure the safety from all hazards for all our students.

Carol M. Duberstein Apopka