New Rochelle Parents Confused, Annoyed By School Dismissal Time Changes
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- As students in one Westchester County district prepare to head back to school, there is a mixed message about a new early dismissal time.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, many New Rochelle parents said they are frustrated about the confusing email.
Dismissal times for elementary school pupils on half days varied – 11:10 a.m. some days, 11:40 a.m. other days.
Making parents scratch their heads further, a second email sent out had a different dismissal time for the first day of school than the first one sent out.
Some took to Facebook to vent their frustrations.
"Guess the district hasn't made up their minds," one parent wrote.
"This would just cause chaos for the school year," another wrote.
Parents told CBS2 early dismissal time used to be 11:40 a.m., and changing it around is a hassle for many.
"People have babysitting issues; transportation issues -- it's a big inconvenience."" said mother Marie Saunders.
After receiving lots of calls, on Thursday the New Rochelle School District put out a release hoping to better explain the change in times.
On days when all schools are dismissed early, elementary schools will be dismissed at 11:10 a.m. When it is just elementary dismissal that is early, the time will be 11:40 a.m.
The reason, the district said, is transportation issues.
In prior years, the district buses provided transportation for elementary schools, and the county's Bee-Line Public Bus picked up the secondary schools. But Bee-Line told the district it will not do early dismissal days this year, so now, the district buses will have to pick up everyone.
And while many find the time change aggravating, others said they will handle it.
"We saw it ahead of time, so we know, and we're going to make the adjustment and make sure we're there a half hour earlier now," said father Brian Mahoney.
Parents hope the clarification will reduce back to school stress at least a little.