Many students would argue that the worst thing about high school is the time it starts. For Wayne Hills, that time is 7:2o am and has been that time since the school opened.

Just recently, though, a bill has been introduced, requiring high school classes to start at 8:30 in the 2024-25 school year and Governor Murphy is open to it. This is a big deal for many parents, students, and faculty and affects everyone.

Lately, this is all people can talk about and on the minds of many. Cassandra Rietema, a freshman at Hills, said, “I really hope that the proposal doesn’t fall through because everyone has wanted this for years and it would make school so much better for all of us, so…like, why not?”

While a lot of people are thrilled about this possibility of a school start time change, others aren’t looking forward to it, especially working parents. Since school starts at the time it needs to, parents that work are used to a schedule that has been the same since however long their child has become a high school student. If the time changes, it could clash with the time they drive to work or other crucial parts of their morning routines before their job. For example, if a parents has a long drive to their job, and their kid need a ride at that time, their kid might have to start taking the bus or carpooling with a friend – that’s a big change.

It is clear why this is a controversial topic, because the outcome will be different for everyone. This also means that school will end later, too, which is another thing no one is really going to be used to, yet.

Freshman Marley Smith said, “I feel that it would be nice to have school start later because we can get more rest, but it would have used school later, which is not always as enjoyable, so I’m kind of torn.”

Whether you are excited about getting a late start and waking up to the sun coming up, or hope that the proposal will eventually not work and don’t have to change schedules, be prepared, because people are going to be talking about it for awhile.