Elementary students in Wylie will start school at 7:30 a.m., according to new school hours unanimously approved by the school board Monday night.

The schedule will take effect next school year. Elementary students will attend from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; junior high and intermediate students from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.; and high school students from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Superintendent John Fuller said the schedule could save the district almost $800,000 in operational costs and bring a one-time savings of $2 million savings. Those savings will come through a better balancing of student loads on buses and by filling buses closer to capacity, which will help lower fuel and other costs.

The school board also is discussing boundary changes for Wylie High and Wylie East High schools. Under the proposed changes, the Wylie East High attendance zone would encompass Akin, Birmingham, Cox and Hartman elementary schools and the portion of Smith Elementary east of Parker Road and east of Aztec Trail. Wylie High's attendance zone would include Dodd, Groves, Tibbals and Whitt elementary schools and the portion of Smith Elementary west of Parker Road and west of Aztec Trail.

This is a change from an earlier proposal, which divided Smith Elementary north and south along an extension of Park Boulevard to Lavon Lake. The superintendent said the changes came because a new development is planned at the north end of the district.

The board reviewed the proposal Monday and indicated support for the attendance zones as presented; it will formally adopt them after at least two public forums. The forums aren't yet scheduled and will be announced soon on the district's Web site, school officials said.

"No matter what you do, somebody's not going to be happy," the superintendent told the board members. "But our students need to know which high school they're going to graduate from."