LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board member criticized some district principals on Wednesday who openly opposed new start times for the 2024-25 school year.
At a meeting Tuesday night, the board approved a plan creating three start times for next year: 7:30 a.m., 8:40 a.m. and 9:40 a.m.
In an open letter to school and district leaders, board member Chris Kolb said board decisions will be unpopular with many people.
RELATED: Concerns among parents, educators still linger as upcoming vote on JCPS start time changes nears
"There is no way around this and pretending like there is some other magical path the board could choose, as many of you have done, is simply absurd, destructive and not in good faith," he wrote.
Addressing changes in education, Kolb wrote: "I certainly hope you commit yourself to work together, to be imaginative, and to innovate in ways that benefit the greatest number of students possible."
He voted against the change, saying it didn't adhere closely enough to research on start times.
After the vote, Hazelwood Elementary principal Courtney Grace said she was disappointed in the decision.
"You know it's not what we stood for [Tuesday] as elementary school principals when we really looked at the research and came together as a collective group," she said. "We service a community and we will do what is best for kids because we need them in our building on time everyday."
Watch the full meeting below:
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.