PORTLAND, Maine — High school students in Portland may soon get to sleep in a little later.
If a deal goes through, their school day would be pushed back from 8 a.m. to 8:35 a.m. In exchange, students would have to stay in school a little longer — the end of the school day would be 3:05 p.m. instead of 2:10 p.m.
The plan also would allow students to ride METRO buses after school at a reduced rate. Greg Jordan, the general manager of the Portland area METRO buses, believes this plan would be beneficial in many ways.
“For the school district, they’re able to scale back school bus operations,” Jordan said. “They can have more flexibility with bell times, so school days can start later, which research shows is important for high school students. For transit, more ridership, more funding coming to the region.”
The plan has the full support of the school board, which is expected to vote on it in the spring.