SAUGUS — Students will get to sleep in a bit when school starts this fall.
On Tuesday, Superintendent of Schools Erin McMahon announced new, later start times for the upcoming school year in an email to parents that was shared with The Item.
Students at the new Saugus Middle-High School will begin their day at 7:50 a.m. and get out at 2:15 p.m. At the Belmonte STEAM Academy, students will begin their day at 8:05 a.m. and be released at 2:05 p.m. Finally, at the Veterans Early Learning Center, students will start learning at 8:30 a.m. and get out of school at 2:30 p.m.
However, the changes are minimal, according to School Committee member John Hatch, who told The Item that the differences are by only minutes, not by hours.
The new start times were agreed upon at a meeting held on Monday between all of the school unions, including the Saugus Educators Association, Saugus Clerical Association and Saugus Educational Assistants Association, Hatch said.
McMahon said she will be recommending the new start times to the School Committee at its meeting this Thursday. The times have to be approved by the committee.
School Committee Vice Chair Ryan Fisher said he plans to support the proposed start times.
“The district is going to continuously look at start times so they work best for Saugus and work best for education,” said Fisher. “I support the proposal for this fall.”
The public will get to speak with McMahon about the upcoming school year, including the new start times, during two upcoming virtual forums, which will be held via Zoom on Aug. 17 and 24, from 6-7 p.m.
