WEST RIDGE — Jamieson Elementary School is among the 82 Chicago Public Schools to get different start and end times for the upcoming school year in an effort to save money across the city, switching from a 7:45 a.m. first bell to 7:30 a.m., Principal Robert Baughman told parents on the school's website.
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner acknowledged Jamieson's time was incorrect in the full list of affected schools recently released by CPS, which lists the school's start time as 7:45 a.m.
On the first day of school Sept. 8, Baughman asked new students in grades 1-8 to be in the school's auditorium by 7:15 a.m., and returning students to meet at the same time on the school's playground assuming the weather is nice.
The final bell will ring at 2:30 p.m., Baughman said.
Kindergartners are to report to a grassy front lawn area just outside the building's main entrance.
Other West Ridge schools like Stone, Decatur and Mather all will see changes to their start times this year as well, with many parents saying they're unhappy about the shift citing difficulty in scheduling, safety concerns and expressing worry that students will spend too many hours a day at school.
On July 1, Chicago Public Schools officials announced bell times would shift at some schools as part of the $200 million in cuts the school system rolled out. Schools with changing bell times were given final notice of their schedules on Monday, Bittner said.
Shifting the start time at the 77 schools will save CPS $9.2 million by reducing the number of bus shifts to two, allowing CPS to cut 160 buses and 75 aides, Bittner said.
"With a $1.1 billion budget deficit, the bell time shift provides significant savings instead of making cuts to the classroom," she said.
Baughman could not be reached for comment.
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