Old boss is not the same as the new boss. Photo courtesy of sophomore Wesley Bartlett.

  San Luis Obispo high school students have mixed feelings about the later school start time, where school will start at 8:30 AM on regular days and 10:00 AM on late start Mondays.  Expressions interviewed a few students to voice their opinions on this topic.

Expressions: How does the later start time impact you before school and after school?

Sophomore Wesley Bartlett: I like to get a lot of sleep before school, because it really just helps me feel energized during the day, and this will help me because I’ll get an extra thirty minutes or so of sleep. The later start time will also give me more time to get ready before school. Usually, I just pour a bowl of cereal for myself for breakfast, but this will give me more time to heat up food or something. After school, I don’t really think it’s going to help me because it’s just going to push everything back by thirty minutes.

Sophomore Cordell Conover: Before school, it doesn’t really impact me that much because I get up at 6:30 AM so I already have a lot of time in the morning. After school, it definitely would impact me more because sports and everything gets pushed back so that I would get home even later. 

Expressions: Do you like the later start time? Why or why not?

Bartlett: I’m for the later start time. I think that people don’t really do as much in the afternoons as they do in the morning because it takes a lot of time to get ready in the morning. People need their sleep.

Conover: No, it’s a terrible idea because everything is going to be pushed back. So then you’re going to get the same amount of sleep because you’re going to be doing homework later. 

Expressions: Will the new start time help you get more sleep?

Bartlett: Yes, it will definitely help me get more sleep because we just have more time in the morning. 

Conover: No, I will not get more sleep because everything’s pushed back. So then I’d stay up late doing homework or living my life. 

Expressions: Will the new start time help you with your school work?

Bartlett: It would actually harm my ability to do my homework because usually I would get my homework done before dinner but then by the time I get home, it’s probably going to be around dinnertime and then I’m going to have to wait until afterwards. 

Conover: No, definitely not. It’s going to harm me because I don’t want to do schoolwork at 10 PM, but I’m going to probably start having to do that. 

  The later start time only affects Middle Schools and High Schools in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District. Pacific Beach High School had the later start time for the 2021-2022 school year, and it nearly halved the amount of tardies and many students liked the extra sleep.