LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will soon be updating its policy on whether or not students will go to school during inclement weather this winter.
School board members will receive a transportation update from Interim Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk during their next meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Included in Fulk's presentation is a slide titled "Inclement Weather Update" which says JCPS will no longer have snow delays. Instead, the district says if inclement weather presents challenges, students just won't go to school.
According to Fulk, the district will be opting for a "go" or "no go" system. The presentation indicates schools have already been updated on non-traditional instruction.
JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan confirmed the changes on Wednesday.
"We will either have NTI or snow days, just like we do now," Callahan said in a statement. "The only change is that we will not be having snow delays."
It's unclear if the decision is permanent or a temporary solution to alleviate the district's bus driver shortage this winter.
Transportation updates
JCPS currently has 574 bus drivers, however the district reports an average of 51 drivers calling off every day, according to Fulk's presentation.
To incentivize bus drivers, the district is offering hourly bonus pays for drivers who drive up to three "challenging routes." These routes include early childhood runs and routes scheduled past 6 p.m.
JCPS is also offering a $6 attendance bonus.
Since the busing fiasco, the district has "significantly consolidated routes and modified school start times to accommodate the bus driver shortage." Fulk said between 65,000 and 70,000 JCPS students ride the bus each day and the average time students get home is around 7 p.m., with the majority of students home by 6:38 p.m.
Fulk is also expected to present board members with actions the district may take leading up to the 2024-2025 school year, including eliminating some routes to magnet and traditional schools, and only busing magnet and traditional students who are on free and reduced lunch.
The district will also be looking into a potential parent stipend for driving high school students to school.
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