LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Many school districts have been dealing with bus driver shortages, canceled routes, and long waits to get students to or from school.

"Every single superintendent I talk to, inside the state of Kentucky or outside the state of Kentucky, are having the same issues," said Bullitt County Public Schools Superintendent Jesse Bacon.

Bullitt County Public Schools is hopeful that partnering with the YMCA for an upcoming new program will provide some relief to families.

The district and YMCA have had a partnership for years, but this new program is taking that a step further.

"Our biggest focus is helping families," said Sharon Bryant, senior program director for the Bullitt County YMCA.

Through the program, which begins Monday, Dec. 5, Bullitt County Public Schools will be able to help out elementary students and their families who experience bus route outages. That means if an elementary student's bus is out (whether it be for the morning, afternoon, or both), that student is eligible to attend their local school's YMCA program that day at no cost to the family. 

The district said that while the new program is a step in the right direction, it's just one part in the process of tackling transportation issues.

"It's not a complete fix to our issue," said Bacon. "We still need to be able to recruit and retain drivers, and that's certainly central for us moving forward as it has been up to this point."

The YMCA will also include before- and after-school activities including crafts, gym time and homework help. Bryant believes it will help fill a need within the community.

"Some parents are losing their jobs, or they're really, really late for work, and that makes it hard for them to be able to provide for their family," said Bryant.

Once the program starts, drop-off at schools can begin as early as 6 a.m. and pick-up can be as late as 6 p.m.

"Essentially, what's going to happen is that when we have buses that are not going to run for various reasons, parents will get a communication, like they always have, from the district," said Bacon. "In that communication will be a link for them to be able to access if they would like to utilize the YMCA program for elementary age kids."

Bacon said parents will need to register every single time their child needs to utilize the free program.

He also said the district would like to have 12 to 15 more bus drivers and is working on incentives to get some teachers behind the wheel. There are also plans for a new, automated routing system.

But, in the meantime, Bullitt County is hopeful that providing this before-school and after-school option for elementary families can help.

"Everybody in our transportation department, from our director to our driver trainers, even folks in central office who have CDL certifications, are out driving," Bacon said. "So we're literally doing everything that we possibly can to try and get our kids to and from school safely."

For more information about the program, including how to sign up, click here.

WDRB News asked other local districts about how they are coping with bus issues. 

A spokesperson for Jefferson County Public Schools said, "We created the Bus Delay Dashboard this year to help parents better plan for bus delays we knew were going to happen. The dashboard is updated every Saturday for the following week. When we have unexpected delays, families receive text messages letting them know how long the delay will be."

A spokesperson for Oldham County Public Schools said, "We do have after-school care at our elementary schools, which requires enrollment and a fee ... In the afternoons, students on late buses are held in the media center or other areas of school under administrative supervision until their bus arrives back at the school to take them home. Parents are notified if their child's bus will be late, with an approximate time frame. 

The change in start time for middle and high this year has definitely reduced, but not eliminated, the number of bus riders arriving to school late."

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