LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the end of the first semester for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) approaches, there are signs that some bus routes for magnet and traditional students could be coming back.
Twelve thousand to 14,000 students lost transportation over the summer, as the district decided it only had enough bus drivers to effectively transport "reside school" students and two magnet programs at Western and Central High School.
At a school board meeting on Nov. 12, Chief Operations Officer Dr. Rob Fulk told the Board of Education they were "six away" from having 60 additional drivers from Transit Authority River City (TARC). The district has said since August that if it can get enough TARC drivers, some of the eliminated routes can be brought back.
"They've been talking about having these TARC bus drivers turn into JCPS bus drivers for way too many months," Berkley Collins said, a mother of two in South Louisville. "I just feel like this is a way to Band-Aid, to keep parents from being mad and confronting them and going to their front door."
Collins had to change her career path to free-up her schedule enough to pick her daughters up from school. She was working remotely as an underwriter for mortgage loans. Now, she runs a cleaning business and sells crocheted items on Etsy and in pop-up shops.
"They need me to stay at a computer --or at least somehow be available from 3-5. I have to leave at 1:30 [p.m.], I don't get back until 4 [p.m.]," Collins said.
Her daughters go to Johnson Traditional Middle School and Carter Traditional Elementary School. Her parents live close by but are not well enough to pick them up, and she was unable to find a carpooling solution.
"If you're someone who is bullying someone, you can be kicked out of a traditional school. I wish they could do that at a reside school," Collins said.
The issue with turning former TARC drivers into JCPS drivers has been their "S certification" through the Kentucky State Police. This requires them to complete a written test, entry level driver training, and then take a road skills test.
"So far, we have not had 60 TARC drivers pass the certification, which has definitely taken longer than we expected based upon JCPS driver S certification pass rates," JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan said. "TARC drivers who have S certification have been driving for us, picking up routes for JCPS drivers who call out sick."
Callahan also reiterated the reason for the transit change this summer was to avoid the system-wide busing issues from the 2023-24 school year, which affected more than 12,000 to 14,000 students.
"A difficult decision was made by the Jefferson County Board of Education to ensure the overwhelming majority of our students would get to school on time every day and not miss the millions of minutes of instructional time they lost last year," Callahan said. "We’re pleased that this year’s transportation plan has worked for tens of thousands of students while recognizing and understanding the adverse impact on a relatively small number of families who transferred schools due to lack of transportation."
Parents suing the district and the district's lawyers agreed to another two-month pause on the lawsuit saying that these transit changes unfairly impact minority students. That pause will now last until January.
"...The District continues to increase the number of available bus drivers and hopes to be able to expand bus service to certain magnet and traditional schools at the beginning of the next school semester," JCPS wrote in a court filing.
The filing specified that duPont Manual High School, Male High School and Whitney Young Elementary School would probably be the first to get their routes back. Those are the schools of the parents suing the district.
Even though it's taking a toll on her body, Collins has enjoyed the cleaning business. She said she specifically caters to people with neurodivergent disorders like ADHD and bipolar disorder.
"When I see it, it's like a factory line. If one thing stops, everything stops up. And, since I'm also neurodivergent, I can see where their stop is," she said.
She's not sure what her career will do next, but her kids having a ride to school would help.
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