Fairfax School District history

But colony residents wanted to be able to vote in Fairfax trustee elections and have more of a voice in district operations and in March of 1900 submitted a "Petition for a Change in School District Boundaries" to the board of supervisors.

In 1920 the state association Journal listed for the first time a president of FEA, Mary M. Snead.

Food service was first offered to Fairfax students in 1928 and was initiated by Mrs.

The original Fairfax School was destroyed by a fire that broke out on the first day that school resumed after the Christmas break in 1929.

The Fairfax district experienced moderate growth during the next twenty years, recording an average daily attendance for the 1932-33 school years of 101 students and a staff of three teachers: Mrs.

Bus transportation was first made available to Fairfax students in 1935 following purchase by the district of a used Reo bus from Kern County High School District.

In 1942, the Government built a ten-room, frame building at 3100 N. 9th Street to serve families of war production workers in the Quindaro Homes area.

A Writ of Attachment was received from George Bell, Wyandotte County Superintendent, on August 20. [Note – Information found in past records of the Fairfax PTA: In 1943, on October 1, the Fairfax Parent Teachers Association was organized.

The Board of Education of District #46 purchased the building from the Federal Works Administration on January 7, 1947 for $14,000.

The principal attorney in the fight against the City was Joseph H. McDowell, who had been elected state senator in 1948 following his defeat in the mayoral race.

The City first tried to annex the area in 1949, beginning years of litigation.

Unfortunately, this school was severely damaged and rendered unsafe for occupancy by the earthquake of 1952.

Fairfax was the last project under the 1953 bond issue.

Anticipating that there would soon be a need to provide additional classrooms for their growing student population, the district built a second school, the Virginia Avenue School, which opened in January of 1954.

“In 1956, the city undertook its first annexation in thirty-one years.

The contract was awarded to Bennett Construction, with construction beginning in January, 1959.

1960 – May 9: Dedication of 14 classrooms, library, health room, office.

In 1961, FEA hired its first Executive Director, Paul Peter; this one-time radio announcer and teacher was an effective leader in desegregating the profession and having the FEA incorporated under state law.

(Note: “District 46, Fairfax, was organized in 1920 and was annexed to Kansas City, Kansas on June 6, 1950. It had no school building. – “History and Growth of Wyandotte County Education System,” Lewis D. Wiard, County Supt. of Schools, 19 Sept 1963.)

In 1966 two acres were purchased in Reston.

In 1970 FEA took advantage of an opportunity to buy an 8.5 acre tract on Route 236 just west of Olley Lane.

In 1972, there was an addition of an annex (9th Street) to absorb the enrollment from the Dunbar area and Hawthorne.

Since 1988 the FEA building has served as a visible symbol of teacher and school employee strength and commitment to excellence in Fairfax County.

The district realized $4,260,000 from their May, 2000 bond election, a measure that was overwhelming approved by district voters.

In 2003, the Bridges program (formerly at Whittier School at 10th & Gilmore) occupied the Fairfax Elementary building at 3101 N. 10th Street, and the Fairfax Learning Center (an alternative school) occupies the annex at 3016 N. 9th Street.

2004 – Restructuring of the district’s alternative education programs has been a result of insufficient funding of public schools by the state Legislature.

Fairfax Alternative School – Education Center, 4601 State Avenue, Suite 38 (2005) Fairfax Campus 3101 N. 10th Street with annex at 3016 N. 9th Street (2005) 3101 N. 10th Street with a later annex at 3016 N. 9th Street (original locations)

Six classrooms were added in 2006 and the Shirley Lane campus now has 31 classrooms, including two portables.