Fairfield will scrap bus hub at high school

FAIRFIELD – Big changes are in store for Fairfield’s in-town busing.

The district is moving away from its central hub system where all students are dropped off at Fairfield High School before moving onto their own bus. Instead, the district will have three different start times for its four buildings, so that bus drivers can go from one building to the next in time for the students’ first class.

The first day of school in the Fairfield school district is Monday, Aug. 25. From that day forward, the high school will run from 7:55 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., Washington Elementary from 8:05 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and Pence Elementary and the middle school from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The district will continue its policy of holding early-outs on Friday afternoons for teacher professional development, though classes will be dismissed earlier this year, at 1:15 p.m. at Washington and 1:30 p.m. at the other buildings. Last year, classes were dismissed at 2 p.m. on Fridays.

“Every bus will stop at every building,” said Fairfield Superintendent Zach Wigle. “In the afternoon, all 12 buses will start at Washington, and then they’ll go to the next building. It will be a work in progress that first week, but this should eliminate some of the issues we’ve had from a discipline standpoint.”

Wigle said this new system will reduce the number of kids on a bus, and that will be better for the bus drivers. They won’t have to deal with as many kids, and can become better acquainted with their smaller number of regulars. Under the old system, a bus could have upwards of 70 kids during its journey to the hub, and Wigle said the new system will result in perhaps 30 kids on a bus at the most.

Wigle said the district did a test-run of these new start times in April to make sure the buses could reach each building on time.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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