LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) parents, staff, students and community leaders packed the Vanhoose Education Center on Tuesday as they waited to hear about any updates since the first-day transportation disaster.
"I'm disappointed that we didn't follow through on what this board was told was going to happen as we move forward," school board member Joe Marshall said.
Board member Diane Porter spoke on behalf of her district where a student got home very late.
"Since 1975, when the two districts came together, to my knowledge, we have never had a student taken off the bus at 9:58 p.m., this is unacceptable," she said.
JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio presented what they've been able to accomplish since the mess.
A key fob will be placed on students' book bags so the bus driver can make sure the student is on the right bus.
This Friday, staff members will make sure the elementary and middle school students know their bus stop and number information.
However, a new bus tracking app may not be ready on Friday, and instead, looking more like next week.
"Or it can have notifications in the afternoon that the bus is entering the neighborhood so that the parent knows that they can go meet the bus.... we hope to have that ready to go at minimum, it will be early next week," Pollio said.
As far as a long-term plan, Pollio said an internal audit team will keep track of all systems the district is using. But board members want an outside, independent review.
"I think it would go a long way in order to have, in order to help foster trust to have an outside agency do that audit, because when audits are done from the inside they tend to paint a more positive picture," Shull said.
In the end, it came down to accountability; everyone wants it, but some wonder how to rebuild the lost trust between drivers, families and staff.
"Let's get it going and let's make it work; our children deserve it, our families deserve it, and our bus drivers deserve it teachers, principals and everybody.... this is unacceptable," Porter said.
JCPS will continue to come up with solutions with AlphaRoute and T-Mobile for their bus tracking system, and UPS will review routes.
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