ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Public Schools will be changing the bell schedule at some middle and elementary schools.

APS families got an email from the district earlier this week, saying some schools were going to get a new bell schedule at the start of the next school year.

APS shared the following statement on the changes:

“The changes to next year’s bell schedule are mostly minor and are being instituted to address concerns we heard from our middle school families and duty time for teachers. Specifically, we received feedback from families who said the current 9:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m. school day often hindered after-school athletics and activities. Starting in August, most APS middle school students will begin class at 8:05 a.m. and be dismissed at 2:50 p.m.”

KOB 4 spoke to the president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, who said the change goes back to not having enough bus drivers.

“APS has to make sure that the buses can drop off the early kids and then go pick up the middle kids, then go drop them off, then pick up the later start kids and drop them off,” Ellen Bernstein said.

Bernstein knows it is not easy for families.

“Sometimes that’s difficult – you’ve got second jobs, you’ve got daycare, and all of those things that staff and family have to worry about,” Bernstein said.

APS then made more changes Thursday after teachers brought up some concerns.

“For young kids, it’s really late, so there was a lot of worry from the teachers, the elementary teachers in these extended day schools, that that was just too late for these little kids,” Bernstein said. “APS came back today and they worked with the buses and worked with their schedules and were able to adjust those to start a little earlier and end a little earlier.”

Bernstein says until the district can get more bus drivers and more funding for drivers, they won’t have much flexibility regarding bell schedules.