First-day delays for Fairfield buses resolved

FAIRFIELD — The director of transportation in the Fairfield Community School District has advice for parents on the first day of school to help the day go smoother.

Buses in the district ran late Monday afternoon owing to confusion among some children about which bus they should board. School district transportation director Mark Branch said some students had not been on a bus before or couldn’t remember their bus number, which meant the drivers spent extra time getting everyone sorted.

“There was never a student lost, they were always on a bus, and we knew where they were,” Branch said. “I talked to [transportation] directors in other districts, and they said you’re always going to run 15 minutes behind on the first day.”

Branch said parents could help reduce bus-related confusion on the first day by allowing their child to ride the bus in both the morning and afternoon, or taking them to school in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day. He said the confusion often comes from students whose parents dropped them off in the morning but had them ride the bus in the afternoon, which the student was not familiar with.

Branch said he and his staff worked late Monday to ensure all students in the district made it home safely. By the second day of school Tuesday, the transportation problems had been resolved, and the buses were running on time.

Branch noted the district is investing in technology to make busing safer and easier by installing computers in the buses that will scan a student’s identification card to see if they are boarding the correct bus.

The district hoped to have the technology ready for the first day of school, but pandemic-related delays have pushed the rollout into September. Branch said the buses transporting the youngest children, to Washington Elementary School, will be the first to receive the equipment.

Another change in transportation this year is that the district is leasing 12 new buses instead of spending money on purchasing two. The contract allows the district to use the 12 buses for five years and can either return them or purchase them. Branch said the switch to this lease-to-own model will save the district $65,000 each year for five years.