School starts Thursday, allow a bit more travel time

Say goodbye to that smooth morning commute, and hello to the big yellow buses.

School starts Thursday morning for more than 60,000 public school students in York, Lancaster and Chester counties. More than 4,000 teachers are heading back to the 93 schools that closed for summer a couple months back, plus Pleasant Knoll Middle School opening for the first time in Fort Mill.

Throw in administrators, support staff and parents opting for drop off rather than the bus on the first day, and the Thursday morning rush promises to be a bit more crowded.

School starts a few days earlier this year because the state legislature allowed districts to begin Aug. 17 rather than the typical third Monday. The one-time change revolves around the total solar eclipse Monday afternoon as an educational opportunity.

All York and Lancaster county public schools have a half-day planned for the eclipse so dismissal comes before the sky goes dark. Chester County schools have an extended school day Monday and will allow students to view the eclipse with their classes.

Most area schools have typical first-day schedules.

Lancaster County school start between 7:15 and 8 a.m., letting out between 2 and 3:30 p.m. In Chester County school starts at 7:50 or 8 a.m., dismissing between 2:15 and 3:01 p.m. York County schools vary by district and grade level, with bell schedules on most school websites.

Some students zoned for Gold Hill Elementary School will be attending Tega Cay Elementary School instead this fall. There is an enrollment freeze at Gold Hill, which was announced earlier this month. Bus riders among those students still will be bused to Gold Hill, then shuttled to Tega Cay.

For details specific to a school or district, check out sites for York, Clover, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Chester County and Lancaster County.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "School starts Thursday, allow a bit more travel time."