2024-25 School Year Start Times/Transportation Update
TSD School Start/End Times for the 2024-25 School Year:
TSD Families:
On May 16, 2024, the Talawanda Board of Education voted to support funding for the continuation of the one-tiered busing and current bell schedules. This means there will NOT be busing for high school students (both private/parochial and public). Butler Tech students will continue to be transported from THS or Marshall Elementary. There also will be NO transportation for families and students living 2 miles driving distance or less from their building. Special Education students who require bussing per their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be provided bus transportation.
THS will open its doors at 7:00 AM. The ZERO bell classes or the cafeteria will be open for students to arrive earlier. The high school's regular bell times will remain 8:15 AM-2:55 PM.
TMS will open its doors at 7:15 AM. Students may come early and stay in the Cafeteria. The middle school times will be 8:00 AM-2:45 PM.
Elementary building times will be 8:25 AM-3:05 PM. Students will start getting ready for dismissal as early as 2:55 PM. Drop-off may start at 8:05 AM. *The Y may offer LatchKey daycare before and/or after school if there is enough interest and participation. The Y LatchKey program fee is based on a sliding scale. Contact the Y if you are interested in this LatchKey program.
Talawanda Pre-School (which is different from the Head Start program) has two sessions Monday through Thursday. The AM session will be 8:25 AM-11:25 AM. The PM session will be 12:05 PM-3:05 PM. There will NOT be busing for preschool students unless required by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Teachers will start the dismissal process earlier than the end times as it will take our youngest children time to learn the routine and transition.
Head Start is a preschool program at Marshall Elementary. There are very few spaces for this program. The program is operated by the Butler County Educational Service Center (BCESC). Any questions may be directed to their staff.
All high school students/families and students/families who live 2 miles or less from a building AND who have applied for busing next school year will have their request cancelled as it is no longer an option.
All others (K-8 and live more than 2 miles) STILL need to submit a transportation request by June 7, 2024 to receive busing. We need an accurate count so routes including pick up/drop off times can be developed. Bus notifications will be sent 1 week before the start of school in August. We also will keep an updated posting of routes on our website under Transportation.
We understand these transportation and start/end times will not complement every family’s individual work/activities schedule. A two-tiered busing model would also be problematic for some families as well, as some have reported to the district. The Board had a difficult time weighing the information to make this financial decision.
A decision regarding transporting students for extracurricular activities like athletics will be made at the June Board of Education meeting. Stay tuned.
Thank you for your participation in the survey as well as your commitment to our students/children. Have a safe and fun summer!
In Education,
Dr. Edward Theroux
Superintendent
