LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two months into the school year, and Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) are still facing bus delays. But this time around it's for a different reason.
"Sometimes they don't get home to 6:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m. sometimes 8:00 p.m.," Roderick McKinney said in reference to his niece and nephew who both ride JCPS buses.
Drivers called out, off the job, at a moments notice.
On Friday, Oct. 13, the district reported 59 bus drivers who called in. By Tuesday afternoon, 47 drivers called in.
Teamsters Local 783 President John Stovall told WHAS11 most bus drivers have said out-of-control students and the lack of discipline are the biggest reasons for the call outs.
"From my understanding, the reason they are either quitting or calling in [is] because its hard on them and they don't want to be responsible for nobody children," McKinney said.
He said due to this bus driver shortage, once his niece and nephew finish their homework they have to eat, bathe then go to bed.
"They don't get to talk about what happened at school or none of this; they don't get no playing time," McKinney said.
He said the bus delays are affecting their academics and he isn't too happy with the time constraints they have put on his family.
"We have to like stop, like, in between our work schedules and go pick them up from other routes that we know that the bus runs," McKinney said.
However, he said something needs to be done between JCPS parents and bus drivers to solve this problem.
"I think they need to come together because, you know, most of the bus drivers may know the parents," he said.
He feels this will relieve some of the bus problems.
A JCPS spokesperson said they continue to work on efficiencies and pointed to the changes Superintendent Marty Pollio laid out for next year.
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