Madison County Board of Education has plans to implement a later start for the high schools in the area. Elementary and middle schools would start at the usual time of 7:45 a.m. while high schools would start at either 8:30 or 8:45 a.m. This may seem like a perfect idea to students who are eager for any extra minute of sleep they can get in the morning, but it does come with a down side.

The school day still has to last the same amount of time, which means students will be dismissed at 3:45 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. This would cause students to arrive at home at approximately 5 p.m. Students often take on responsibilities of jobs, sports teams, band practice and other extracurricular activities and a later dismissal will make these activities impossible. There will be little to no time for students to do anything except eat dinner and do homework. An extra hour of sleep will not get rid of the high amount of stress of the late schedule.

Although some think the current start times are early, students are still arriving on time. In fact, most students arrive early to the school building on a daily basis. The ones who are late are generally have a habit of tardiness that does not stop outside of school. If they are told to arrive 45 minutes later than normal, they will arrive an hour later than normal.

Yes, the issue is with crowded bus routes however; the car rider and driver are a priority as well. The current start and end times are not causing dramatic problems for the students, and the students are supposedly the number one priority of a school system. The Board of Education does not need to change a method that has worked for years.