Three Tier Bussing proposal reaches new heights
The USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden School Board’s Three-Tier Bussing system discussion has heated up in recent weeks. Many Manhattan High School students, parents and teachers have expressed the desire for a later start time in order for more adequate sleep.
“Right now, the board was presented ideas, and they communicated back that they continue to like the idea of elementary [starting before high school] because the data shows elementary kids should go earlier, high school kids should be able to sleep in,” Dorst said.
The Board will vote on the matter in December and any approved changes will be put in effect for the start of the 2026-27 school year.
“They can choose to take a full recommendation, take a recommendation, modify it, or come up with something that they would like for it. They could share appreciation for the work from the committee and say, ‘we’re not going to change anything.’ So, you know, the Board has that ability to do that,” Dorst said.
A later start time would also mean a later dismissal, leaving less time for sports and clubs to meet after school.
“I’m assuming that there may be a request for some activities to practice, rehearse, maybe in the morning. Not all, but some,” Dorst said. “So we may have an athletic team that says, ‘It could be worthwhile to do a practice or practice session for this day in the morning,’ instead of in the afternoon or into the evening. That’s a possibility.”
Alcohol, drug and tobacco offenses on the rise
Behavior data taken between the first day of school and the last day of the first week of November, highlighted an increase in alcohol, drug and tobacco offenses from the same time last year. Alcohol referrals have gone from zero offenders a year ago to now two. Drug related offenders have tripled from nine last year to 27 this year and tobacco offensives have increased from six to 16.
“We recognize that there is a substantial increase. Last couple of years, we’ve noticed that there’s been a substantial decrease,” Dorst said.
After acknowledging the problem at hand, new steps must be taken to prevent the substance abuse that is occurring.
“And one of those things, unfortunately, is catching kids in the act of either possessing, using, selling, [or] distributing. And so we’ve done that,” Dorst said “…It’s almost like a band aid. You have to stop immediately, as much as you can, and then you have to follow that back up with education, education as a whole school.”
Truancy numbers decrease
Data on truancy has shown a positive trend, decreasing from 36 filed offenders from this time last year to just 16 this year.
“We want to provide a school that has resources for kids, and that’s one of the motivating factors of creating the ALE [Alternative Learning Environment] program …that could be a huge part of why we see a drop in truancy numbers,” Dorst said.
Requirement added for Flextime smartpasses
Starting on Thursday Nov. 20 — the day before Thanksgiving Break begins — students wanting to work in a different classroom during Advisory FlexTime must send their teacher a SmartPass request before midnight of the day before.
“We have people that are on the move to go to their class if they need to go. And then we have individuals that are somehow getting out of class and just roaming the halls and not going anywhere except the halls. And that provides an unsafe environment, because we can’t regulate,” Dorst said. “That’s where sometimes your fights happen or physical or verbal altercations happen or other nefarious type activities happen. And we want to squelch those.”
