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ST. LOUIS — Bell times would shift earlier or later by 5 to 50 minutes on every campus in St. Louis Public Schools under an emergency transportation plan to reduce bus routes.

Four high schools — Collegiate, Roosevelt, Sumner and Vashon — have the most significant changes with a start time shift from 8:05 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. and end time shift of 3:02 p.m. to 2:12 p.m.

The changes create three tiers of bell times: 7:15 a.m. to 2:12 p.m. for all high schools and most middle schools, 8:20 a.m. to 3:17 p.m. for some middle schools and half the elementary schools, and 9:25 a.m. to 4:22 p.m. for the remaining elementary schools.

Later start times for high schoolers, which are recommended for healthier sleep, were not feasible because it would require too many buses, according to the plan to be voted on Tuesday at the SLPS board meeting.

The district needs to eliminate dozens of bus routes after its main vendor Missouri Central terminated its contract this summer. The bus company last year used a fleet of 228 vehicles — 181 conventional yellow buses and 47 short buses. In the 2024-2025 school year, SLPS expects to have 75 to 90 yellow buses and an unknown number of smaller vehicles from multiple vendors.

In addition to the bell changes, the five-point strategy to compensate for the loss of buses will also include MetroBus passes for some high school students, more parent drivers, fewer bus stops and more 10-passenger vans. The proposal released Tuesday does not include details beyond the schedule changes.