Common Start Time For Bloomfield Hills High School Campuses

Students at both campuses of the new Bloomfield Hills School will have a common 7:25 a.m. start time when the school year begins in September, Superintendent Rob Glass said Thursday.

Administrators made the decision at a meeting following months of discussion, and an online survey for parents for that closed earlier this week. Glass said the majority of survey participants preferred the common start time, as did administration, but that it was not the deciding factor.

"This will make coordination and scheduling easier, but it will have it's challenges," Glass said during a 'state of the district' presentation at the Bloomfield Township Senior Center Thursday morning.

Construction of the consolidated Bloomfield Hills High School begins this summer and will create a two-year transition process that affects all students that will or currently attend Andover, Lahser and Model high schools. Students in grades 10-12 next year will use the current Lahser High School, while ninth graders will be housed at the former Hickory Grove Elementary School.

The district proposed staggered start times for the buildings to ease congestion around both schools, which are off Lahser Road. However, during the first round of school transition meetings for parents in November, several parents cited concerns about siblings with different start times and the impact on after-school activities.

District spokeswoman Shira Good said they do not intend to release the survey data and reiterated that it was not the lone factor in the district's decision. Further details about busing and traffic issues related to the high school are still in development, Glass said.