The Pinellas County school district said it could only give school staff and students anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes more in the morning this August.
According to a document posted on the Pinellas County School Board's Tuesday workshop agenda, it's looking more like the former of those times.
The district is proposing that most high schools start at 7:20 a.m with most middle and elementary schools starting 10 minutes later at 8:45 a.m. and 9:40 a.m, respectively.
Four high schools would miss out on the change. Lakewood, Gibbs, Dixie Hollins and Boca Ciega high schools are slated to remain at the 7:05 a.m. start, however they could dismiss at 1:50 p.m. rather than the current 2:05 p.m. time.
The Times has reached out to Clint Herbic, the associate superintendent charged with looking at start times and bus times, for comment.
Parents led the crusade for a later high school bell time after Hillsborough swapped high school and elementary school times to get high school students to start their day at 8:30 a.m., the recommended time for adolescents according to experts. More than 6,200 have signed an online petition advocating for a later start.
District officials say busing logistics get in the way of making that a reality. Pinellas is the most densely populated county in Florida, and between traffic woes and long routes that criss-cross the county to get 7,500 students to school choice programs, they say it's difficult to get about 30,000 students to school on-time with bell adjustments.
School Board members will discuss the start times at the Tuesday workshop. The change is expected to go before the board for a vote at a board meeting April 10.