LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thousands of families in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) experienced a spectrum of bus delays on the first day of school. The district canceled school for six days to sort out the mess and is committed to a phased reopening beginning Friday.
"It could go a lot better than it did last time, but of course, it could also go worse," Oliver Hinson said, who goes to Noe Middle School.
The short-term changes the district committed to include:
- Staff members sitting in the front seat of the longest bus routes and helping drivers with GPS and directions. The district said 26 drivers requested this and 200 staff members volunteered.
- A bus tracking app called Edulog for parents to track their kids' buses in real time. The app is not available to parents as of this writing, but JCPS administrators said school building staff and the employees in the 485-RIDE call center have been trained on it.
- Vans and extra buses will be available to wait for students who are late arriving on transfer buses, that way the scheduled bus can leave quicker with the other students.
"We are telling parents 'call your school'. If your child's bus is running late and you're wondering where is your child, you can call your school. If your school is unable to help you, you can call 485-RIDE," JCPS Chief of Communications Carolyn Callahan said.
Oliver's mom Erin said he was about an hour and 45 minutes later than his scheduled time getting home on the first day of school, but that included over two hours not moving either at Noe Middle School or at a bus compound.
Her main frustration is that her son still does not have a morning stop on the bus finder, and she had to get it by calling the district and the school several times.
"My confidence waned a little," Erin said.
She said her work has been flexible with her, allowing her to work on these bus issues for her son, but that won't last forever.
"I can't do that forever. I also can't leave my kids at home. So, at some point, we have to figure out how to get kids back into school," she said.
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