Community Frequently Asked Questions:

Why can’t LCPS just hire more bus drivers?
LCPS has undertaken a number of initiatives to address this challenge, including increasing driver pay, increasing driver guaranteed hours, increasing the employee referral bonus, and establishing a sign-on bonus for the first time. All of these measures have produced a positive effect on recruiting and retention. LCPS believes, however, that this challenge will remain going into the next school year and that something more must be done in order to safely and efficiently transport more students with available resources.  

For those elementary students whose start time would shift to 7:30 a.m., wouldn’t they have to be at the bus stop or walk to school in the dark?
Yes, during the winter season when days are shorter, some elementary students would be walking to the bus stop or to school in the dark. However, this is currently the case with many of our elementary schools that are along longer routes with early pick up times.

Will Crossing Guards be able to support the revised bell schedule?
LCPS is actively coordinating with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the Crossing Guards.

Will Parks and Recreation staff, who support CASA and YAZ, be able to support the revised bell schedule?
LCPS will coordinate with Loudoun County Parks and Recreation which oversees the CASA and YAZ programs.

What methodology did Transportation use to determine which schools would go first shift or second shift?
The LCPS Routing Team looked at the proximity of various schools to each other as well as the size of the area being served and traffic patterns to determine the most efficient time schedule.

How will this time change affect my student’s ability to attend athletic practices if they are attending Academies of Loudoun? 
The time relationship between the start/end of your student’s home high school and the start/end time of Academies of Loudoun will remain the same as it is today. There is a slight risk that the shift by 15 minutes to a later dismissal time will put the buses in heavier rush hour traffic, however our routing staff believe this risk is minimal and can be mitigated with alternative routing plans.

How will this time change affect the start of athletic game times?
Athletic game start times should be able to remain as they are today. However, depending on the location of the game in relation to the home high school, some students may need to be transported directly to the game or in some rare instances, the start times may need to be adjusted.

Staff Frequently Asked Questions:

How will this benefit our schools?
Students arriving on time will limit disruption to instruction time. With the anticipated reduction in second loads, this should reduce the burden on teachers and administrators to support the early arrival of first load students and late dismissal of second load students.

Will this change affect teacher contracts?
Teacher contracts should remain as they are today, however their actual schedules may need to be adjusted based on the bell schedule.

If all the students are arriving on buses at once, will there be room in the bus loop at all the schools to stage the buses for afternoon dismissal?
Some schools may have space limitations for all the buses to stage on campus, however buses would be staged nearby and would move on campus as soon as space is available.

Updated June 13, 2022