HUBER HEIGHTS — Huber Heights students returned to class for the new school year under new Superintendent Russ Fussnecker with longer school days across all grade levels.
The schedule changes follow severe winter weather in February 2026, when severe snowstorms caused class cancellations that pushed students at Weisenborn Junior High below Ohio’s state-mandated minimum of 1,001 instructional hours.
The extra daily time is designed to build buffer hours into the calendar to prevent making up canceled snow days at the end of the year.
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Elementary schools in Huber Heights added 30 minutes to their daily schedule for the new school year. Weisenborn Junior High added 40 minutes, while Wayne High School saw the largest adjustment with an extra 50 minutes of instructional time each day.
Fussnecker said the minor daily adjustments accumulate into substantial instructional hours over time. “We’re able to get the hours in by going a little extra each day; you can get that extra half an hour in each day and that adds up to where you know - so many of those and that creates another day and a second day,” Fussnecker said.
The extended schedule also allows the district to preserve a full three-month summer break, keeping students out of class until after Labor Day.
Other area school districts, including Vandalia-Butler and Mad River, have previously adopted similar extended daily schedules. “There are two other districts in the area, Vandalia-Butler and Mad River, who have done this before,” Fussnecker said. “This is the first year for us, so we truly had three months off, and it’s kind of old school.”
Fussnecker spent the summer meeting with board members and staff while preparing to welcome the district’s 5,200 students. He noted strong community ties throughout the schools.
“There’s a lot of pride in this district; it’s funny,” Fussnecker said. “It’s a, it’s a larger district, but it still has a small-town feel, and a lot of people who grew up here continue to come back here. They teach here, their grandparents went here, and that’s something that really sticks out; they really love this district.”
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