By Madison Dymond ‘16

Shortly following Superintendent Joshua Starr’s decision to recommend against later start times for Montgomery County due to financial restrictions, The Fairfax County School Board voted 11 to 1 to delay start times to between 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. in the county’s 22 high schools and three secondary schools.

According to an article in the Washington Post, this delay in start times will cost around $4.9 million, which includes the purchase of 27 new buses. The middle schools will begin at 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than they have in prior years.

The debate on start times has been ongoing for more than a decade, as studies have continually found that teens do not get enough sleep. “Teenagers need more sleep,” said Sandy Evans, a Mason District Representative for Fairfax County, in a WTOP story. “This is not good for their health. We know that our teen students are very sleep deprived,” said Evans.

The change in Fairfax County will become effective for the 2015-2016 school year. As for MCPS, there are no recent indications that high school will start later.