Dear Fayetteville-Manlius Families and Staff,
I am writing to provide an update regarding school start times for the 2026-2027 school year. As you may recall, a district-wide School Start Time Committee, which included parents and staff from all school levels, met earlier this fall and determined that a major scheduling change is not feasible at this time. However, beginning next year, all high school students will have a 30-minute lunch period built into their daily schedule. This is an important step in supporting students’ well-being and ensuring they have adequate time during the school day.
To incorporate this lunch period, the high school bell schedule will be slightly adjusted. At this time, we can confirm that while the high school start time will remain the same for the next school year, the dismissal time will shift to 2:20 p.m. To accommodate the new high school bell schedule and maximize the operational efficiency of our transportation fleet, there will be minor adjustments to the start and end times across the district.
Because our transportation system operates on a coordinated, tiered model, where buses run staggered routes to serve multiple schools in sequence, this high school adjustment necessitates a shift in our operations. Consequently, other schools may see their start and dismissal times adjusted by up to 15 minutes. Importantly, the total length of the school day for each school will remain unchanged.
To ensure these transitions are implemented thoughtfully and efficiently, we are working in partnership with an external transportation consultant, On the Bus Transportation Planning, to refine routing and maximize system efficiency. At the same time, we are conducting a comprehensive review of our transportation operations to ensure we continue to uphold our high standards for safety and reliability.
We expect to share the finalized, district-wide schedule with you within the next two months. In the meantime, we will continue to keep our school community apprised as this work progresses. We appreciate your patience and partnership as we finalize these schedules to prioritize the needs of our students and schools.
Sincerely,
Dr. Magda Parvey
Superintendent of Schools