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JCPS' short-term actions to address bus issues before school begins again; staggered return dates announced

“My team and I should have listened to you when your union leadership told us our transportation plan had holes in it," Superintendent Marty Pollio said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools has announced a staggered plan to get students back in the classroom, after unprecedented back-to-school bus delays.

In a letter sent to parents, the district said schools will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here's a breakdown of the plan:

Elementary and middle school students will return Friday, Aug. 18 while high schools will return on Monday, Aug. 21. 

Schools that have multi-levels, like Marion C. Moore, their middle school will return on Friday and Moore High School students will return Monday.

JCPS said all state agency schools will return on Friday as well. 

In the letter, the school district said it will implement an app allowing parents and schools to know where a student's bus is "during the ride to and from school." JCPS said it will give family instructions on how to download the app by Friday, which is the target date to have it up and running.

The district announced Monday that it'll continue addressing transportation issues with short-term solutions to make students' trips to and from school more efficient.

Several changes were outlined in a letter Superintendent Marty Pollio sent to bus drivers on Saturday, Aug. 12, with details about ways the district plans to fix the problem. Many of the actions came up through talks with JCPS bus drivers.

"Your fellow drivers shared some excellent ideas that I’m asking our transportation team to implement as we get back to work," he said.

The superintendent said while district officials can’t address the larger issue of long routes that crisscross Jefferson County right now, they can still take immediate, short-term actions.

Here’s what short-term actions JCPS plans to take:

  • Have JCPS vans and drivers available to take elementary students home or back to school when they don’t have an adult waiting at a stop. Pollio said this will allow drivers to continue their routes without having to return to the original school.
  • Have an extra bus or van at depots to take home students on late arriving buses so all other depot buses can continue their routes without waiting for one or two final buses to arrive.
  • Have an additional JCPS staff member with a cell phone and GPS onboard buses with the longest, most challenging routes to help with directions and communicate with schools and bus compounds when there are delays.
  • Ensure every child is correctly tagged for their school and morning/afternoon buses.
  • Reduce the length of routes with lots of stops, starting with afternoon runs.

In the letter, Pollio thanked drivers for their hard work and acknowledged the frustrations many drivers felt after the busing fiasco.

“After meeting with some of your fellow drivers yesterday, I better understand what you experienced on Wednesday,” Pollio said. “My team and I should have listened to you when your union leadership told us our transportation plan had holes in it that needed attention before school started. For that, I apologize.”

Pollio also revealed all elementary and middle school families who need special needs transportation will get a call by Wednesday evening with their transportation information.

"We know our long-term solution to our challenges will be to revamp bus routes; however, we need to create a temporary plan to ensure we can return to school safely now," Pollio said.

Pollio added that the school district's operations team is working to create a permanent solution. 

According to Teamsters Local 783, which represents many JCPS bus drivers, AlphaRoute officials are in Louisville as of Saturday. JCPS hired the company to optimize bell schedule times and bus routes.

The bus driver union tells WHAS 11 News that drivers practiced routes through the weekend.

Pollio has also made it clear what happened was not the fault of the bus drivers and has frequently accepted responsibility.

“I pledge that my team and I will listen to you as we move forward,” he added. “I appreciate your dedication to our kids, families and school district. We couldn’t operate without you. Now let’s work together to get our students back in the classroom.”

JCPS said it also plans to ask the Board of Education to "forgive as many missed days as possible" so students would not have to make them up at the end of the year.

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