What is the solution for an extremely overcrowded school where, during passing periods, the hallway is so jam-packed that students can't move?

For Brighton High School, the answer is to split the class schedules and have freshmen and sophomores come in from 7 a.m. until noon and the upperclassmen start later and stay until 5 p.m.

It's a tough balancing act for high school officials -- who have to consider about 2,000 individual class schedules and weave them in with staff demands -- but it's an option of last resort, school officials said.

The school district grew 14 percent last year and Brighton High School is expected to be over its capacity by 500 students next fall but there are no other schools around to accommodate the student population.

Voters turned down a bond issue last November that would have built a high school for the growing district. If voters reject another bond issue in the fall, the district may add a nighttime schedule as well, said Brighton principal Mike Campbell.

The rare act of dividing school sessions was done by Arvada West High School about 10 years ago to alleviate overcrowding but they, too, said it was a difficult task to pull off.

The new schedules take effect this fall and so far, preliminary student reviews are mixed. Although some say it would be great to sleep in and finish homework in the morning, others say it would be odd to stay in class until 5 p.m.