Board approves J.E.J. Moore Middle School bell schedule change for 2024–25, 4–1 vote

The Prince George County School Board approved on May 13 a proposal to change J.E.J. Moore Middle School’s daily schedule for the 2024–25 school year, moving from 45‑minute classes to a six‑period day that provides 60 minutes for core instruction.

Miss Saligati, principal at J.E.J. Moore, said the proposed schedule increases instructional time from about 140 hours per class per year to approximately 176 hours — a gain of roughly 36 hours — and was designed to preserve common planning time, add structured intervention/enrichment, and avoid increasing staff. Saligati told the board the change aligns with the Virginia Literacy Act’s guidance that English instruction warrant more time.

Board members raised logistics questions, including transition times and bus routing. Saligati said transportation staff had reviewed bus patterns and did not anticipate significant problems; she added homeroom and lunch transitions had been considered in the schedule design.

After discussion, a board member moved to adopt the schedule; the motion passed on a roll-call vote. The board recorded Mr. Ealy voting no and the other members voting yes (tally 4–1). The board will implement the new bell schedule beginning with the 2024–25 school year, and staff will work on operational details including start/end times and cafeteria transitions.

The approval followed an internal process at Moore that included a time-committee of staff and leadership input; the administration said it did not need to increase staff to deliver the extra instructional time.