LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Marty Pollio is feeling more prepared as the start of the school year approaches.
He said the district has 561 bus drivers and 510 routes that are ready.
"Our first scrimmage day is really Aug. 1 so they will have their completed routes with it done by that time," Pollio said.
JCPS is still counting on the 70 TARC drivers coming to the district.
Twelve TARC drivers already have their special license, and 58 of them are in the process of getting licensed, which could take a few weeks.
"But as these 58, which we're confident that a significant number, and hopefully all of them, will pass the S License training and have that done in the next two weeks," Pollio said during Tuesday's school board meeting.
He said once those TARC drivers pass their test, he wants to bring a significant amount of students back into the transportation fold, but that won't happen until after school starts.
"We would be focusing on free and reduced lunch at Male, Manual and Butler and then all students at Johnson Traditional, Coleridge Taylor and Young Elementary," Pollio said.
He is hoping for the improvement and possible increase in routes by early September.
For now families can continue to call the 485-RIDE hotline and the Bus Teller Portal to access bus stop information.
Gasoline stipends will be available to most families driving their students to school; it will be $5 a day for most families and $10 for families whose students qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Sign-ups for stipends will start in late August with payments scheduled the week of Sept. 9.
"If there are two students going to two different or multiple schools they would be able to receive a stipend for multiple students, if two kids were going to the same school they would only receive that one stipend," Pollio said.
Overall, he's optimistic this year will be smoother than last year.
"First day is always hard but I feel really good about where we are at this point," the superintendent said.
Every year, parents look to update or change their bus stop information for their student. This year, JCPS has created a 'freeze period.'
It means no bus stops can be added until after school starts as this will allow drivers to focus on their routes for the first day.