LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The new school year is a little more than two months old, but the changes instituted over the summer by Jefferson County Public Schools have created headaches for parents and logistical challenges on a regular basis. Having enough bus drivers is a main roadblock impacting students getting to school on time.

Like many school districts across the country, JCPS is dealing with a bus driver shortage, having to cut routes for a district that serves 65,000 bused students. Superintendent Marty Pollio said in a Jefferson County School Board meeting in August that, in an ideal world, they'd have 850 routes. Instead, they have fewer than 600.

Currently, JCPS transports around 65,000 students. It currently has 568 routes and 578 full-time drivers but averages 44 drivers each day calling out.

On the first day of this school year, the last student didn't get off the bus until about 10 p.m., prompting district leaders to cancel school for a week to improve logistics.

Coming off of fall break, JCPS said 50 drivers called out Wednesday, a big jump from the 30 substitutes it averages each day. That means other drivers have to pick up the remaining routes after completing their original run.

"It hurts to know that something so simple and fundamental such as getting your child to and from school is so difficult," Kamaria Wesley, a former JCPS parent, said Wednesday.

Wesley ended up pulling her daughter out of JCPS a few days before school started this year. She said it's because of the change with school start times and transportation. Her daughter would have been a fifth grader at Norton Elementary, with a 9:40 a.m. start time and 4:20 p.m. dismissal. 

"It would've changed my ability to get to work," Wesley said. "It would've changed her ability to get to school and it would have affected us as a family in general."

But ultimately, Wesley decided it would be best for her daughter to be enrolled in private school, instead of JCPS.

"She has always been a JCPS student," Wesley said. "We were a proud JCPS family. It was a difficult choice to leave."

Earlier this week, a bus taking kids to Atherton High School was on a four-hour delay Monday and Tuesday. A similar situation happened at duPont Manual this week, according to messages from the schools.

"The delays are a result of the bus driver shortage," JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan said in a written statement Wednesday. "... JCPS does not cancel routes like some other districts, so other drivers pick up those routes after completing their original runs, which causes delays. Four hours is excessive and not common, but we do have a handful of buses that may experience delays of up to 2 hours at times."

JCPS is still considering cutting bus routes for magnet and traditional students to help with bus driver shortages. At a board of education meeting in September, Pollio said that the days of the school district providing transportation to every student are likely coming to an end.

"I didn't feel comfortable enough to leave her at home and trust that a bus would actually pick her up," Wesley said.

She said her heart aches for families struggling with transportation issues. 

"I do feel very blessed and fortunate to have the ability to send my daughter to a private school," Wesley said Wednesday. "We have noticed that there are several new students also there at her private school, which tells me that there are also parents who have had to make the difficult decision due to their child not being able to have a basic ability to and from school."

JCPS said make-up work is provided when students miss class, and it's also typically available online to access at any time. 

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