Should elementary school students have to walk home in the dark? Will high school athletes have to miss classes to participate in league sports? Can after-school jobs be shifted to morning opportunities?

Transportation and administration officials in the Marysville School District face some difficult choices in planning for the 2010-2011 school year. With the opening of Getchell High School, the district's bus schedules will require a complete overhaul.

The district serves nearly 12,000 K-12 students, with more than 3,500 of those attending a high school campus. The district's policy allows families to choose the high school of their choice based on student needs rather than residential boundaries. Next year the district will have to find a way to deliver students in grades 9 to 12 to four different campuses: Marysville-Pilchuck, Marysville-Getchell, Arts & Technology and Marysville Mountain View.

With only 100 buses in its fleet and no funds available to increase that number, the district is scrambling. After looking at 14 different options, officials have narrowed the choices to two possible solutions.

Both options on the table would affect all students in the district.

In the first scenario, Getchell's first bell would be at 7:10 a.m. and all other schools in the district would start 15 minutes later than this year. During the dark days of winter, elementary students might be arriving home in the dark but most other activities would be only marginally affected.

The second option moves the high school routes to last, with middle schoolers and elementary students at school 30 minutes earlier, and the high school students beginning classes between 9:25 and 9:50 a.m. Research has shown that high schoolers do better academically when they start their day later, but the 4:30 p.m. end time (for M-PHS) might interfere with after-school sports and jobs.

The district has posted summaries of the recommendations on its Web site and is seeking public input on the transportation issue in several different ways. A survey is available at www.msvl.k12.wa.us, targeting parents and students in the district as well as community members. In addition, the school board has scheduled two open meetings to gather public input.

A Town Hall meeting and public forum has been set for Thursday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m. at the Service Center Board Room, 4220-80th Street NE. Additionally, the regular school board meeting on Monday, November 2, will start one hour earlier, at 5:30 p.m., to allow for public comments on the issue.