Charlotte County students will be starting the school day 15 minutes earlier in the fall and going 15 minutes later in the afternoon.

The county school board this week unanimously approved the changes after promising to add a half hour of instructional time if a tax referendum passed back in November.

The deal gives the district an additional $17M in operating costs per year.

The board says the earliest start time will be for high school students, at 7:10 a.m., and the latest will be for middle school, at 9:10 a.m.