For Fairfield, that means no more busing for students in 10th through 12th grades. Lakota Local Schools is at the state minimum with busing only being provided to elementary and junior high students who live more than two miles away from their respective schools. That system was phased in at the start of the second semester last year.
Cost-saving move
The more that has been cut by local school districts, the more those schools have saved.
Lakota — a district of 18,000 students — now provides transportation for the 9,000 who are eligible. That’s a savings of $2 million for the district.
“It’s a necessary requirement to protect the services in the classroom,” said Chris Passarge, the executive director of business operations for Lakota.
This is the first year Fairfield has eliminated all senior high busing, and that will save the district roughly $744,000.
Prior to last school year, Fairfield buses made a total of 7,900 stops. That number was trimmed to 6,200 for the 2010-11 school year, and for this year, it’s at 2,623.
What’s new
Come the first day of school for Fairfield on Tuesday, changes will be clearly evident in the senior high parking lot.
Fliers were sent out in the school’s newsletter and also handed out during orientation to help the transition go as smoothly as possible.
The school spent about $15,000 on repainting the parking lot and purchasing signs. The district has also received tips from the city and township on how to handle the increase in traffic.
Since the transportation cuts were phased in last school year beginning Jan. 18, Lakota has had some time to get acclimated to the changes. About 12 bike racks were added to school buildings, along with expansion of the lots, sidewalks, painting and signs, at a cost of $267,000.
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