Transportation Opt-In, Walking Zones On the Table for Next School Year in Fredericksburg
Operations director David Ferguson presented options for improving transportation going forward.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Next school year, Fredericksburg families may be asked to opt in to bus transportation, and “walking zones” for eligible students are also under consideration.
David Ferguson, director of operations for Fredericksburg City Public Schools, told the School Board at Monday’s meeting that these—along with adjusting middle and high school start times and “improving route efficiency”—are options that could improve transportation while the division continues to “fight through the driver shortage.”
These options were also discussed at the beginning of this school year, which was disrupted by significant transportation delays.
Ferguson, who began work with the city school division in January, said he has been going out into neighborhoods and following bus routes “to be able to see what our drivers go through and some of the issues we are having” and to collect data about how to improve routing efficiency.
Regarding the transportation opt-in, Ferguson said, “We’ll always make sure we can take students to school, but if they select that they don’t need [transportation], we’re not going to route them right now.” He said this will allow the department to optimize routing for next school year and help principals by providing them with a list of car riders prior to the beginning of the year.
Ferguson said he has tasked staff with creating routes for summer school programs by June 2, and school year routes by the end of July or early August, rather than “the night before” school starts.
He also said the transportation department has hired an additional office manager. This person will work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in order to be present after school hours to answer questions from families, Ferguson said. The new hire will also assist the transportation supervisor with finance and payroll.
Also on Monday, Ferguson told the Board that his team met with English Construction and its landscape contractors, as well as with volunteer tree stewards with Tree Fredericksburg, to discuss the planting of trees at the new Walker-Grant Middle School.
As the Advance reported last month, contractors in March replanted 35 trees that were originally planted in July of 2025. These trees were not planted according to the city arborist’s specifications either last year or this year.
Ferguson said the contractors now know that the trees must be mulched according to the city’s standards, and he thanked Tree Fredericksburg and its tree stewards for working with him and his staff.
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