LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- JCPS canceled more than 100 bus routes Monday morning after nearly a quarter of the district's bus drivers called out sick.

One parent we spoke with waited with her daughter for nearly an hour at the bus stop for a bus that never came, so she ended up sending her to school in an Uber.

As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, 143 JCPS bus drivers in Louisville had called out sick, causing 101 routes of the district's 568 routes to be canceled. 

It's part of an organized sick out where drivers are taking a stand against what they say is a lack of student discipline and long bus routes.

Janae Prater says she never got a notification from JCPS that her daughter's route was canceled, forcing her to call an Uber to take her daughter to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, but she was late. Although Prater understands why the drivers are doing it, she said it ends up hurting students and families who depend on the buses every day. 

"I hope they get it together," Prater said. "It's already been complications from the beginning of the school year where we had to wait hours to get on the bus, when they were running late. Now they're not coming at all."

JCPS officials sent a list of routes Monday morning with 101 canceled routes -- that's nearly 18 percent of the district's 568 routes. Initially, 47 routes were canceled as of Sunday night. 

"These cancellations spread across the district. We are disappointed that so many drivers have made the decision to not show up for work today as the people this hurts the most are our students," JCPS Chief Communications Officer Carolyn Callahan said Sunday night. 

On Friday, 87 bus drivers for JCPS called out to take a stand against what they said is a lack of student discipline and long bus routes. Many parents say it needs to happen.

Monday was originally a day JCPS was out of school, but classes will be in session to make up some time when JCPS canceled classes at the start of the school year due to transportation issues.

Because of Monday's cancellations, JCPS does not have a way to get some students to school.

"It has been an absolute nightmare for most parents. And then if you're a single parent, it's just that much harder," Maja Riney, a JCPS parent, said.

Riney doesn't let her kindergartner ride the bus because of the ongoing problems.

"There's a lot of discipline issues on the buses and fights and I just, I can't I can't allow that," Riney said.

However, she says even if her son rode the bus, she wouldn't mind the bus drivers calling out.

"Just like with the teachers a few years ago, the bus drivers need to take a stand up and make the disruption so that somebody will listen," Riney said.

The school district has already faced consistent driver shortages this school year, sometimes seeing delays of three to four hours getting kids to class. Typically, district leaders said call-outs on Fridays range from 45-60 drivers.

"There are delays, absolutely," Carolyn Callahan, a JCPS spokeswoman, said Friday. "JCPS has never canceled a bus route. That is something that most other districts do do. We have never done that. We delay routes."

Drivers said Thursday to WDRB News they planned to call-out Friday and Monday. John Stovall, president of the bus drivers' union, said student discipline is the biggest issue.

"It's been going on but it's progressively gotten worse each year," he said Friday.

"I figure it'll probably be about the same amount," he said Friday. "They want to get their voice heard."

"This has been something that's been building and building for quite some time," Gay Adelmann, said.

Adelmann helps run the 'Dear JCPS' Facebook page, a group where documenting and voicing district-wide concerns publicly is encouraged.

"We've been sounding the alarm about the impact of community members needing a seat at the table needing to be heard, because the ivory tower is making decisions that don't take into account the needs of our most impacted community members," Adlemann said. "We hope that it gets people out to vote on Tuesday. You know, it's not going to be fixed just because bus drivers say, you know, meet these three demands or whatever. It's really got to be in solidarity with all of the other affected groups."

Last week, JCPS said it's listening to complaints from drivers. A big change in the works deals with the referral process if a student misbehaves on a bus - changing how incidents are documented from the current paper system to electronic. That way the district will be notified of issues in real time.

"I think parents need need to step up and the district needs to step up and say, 'Hey, I understand funding is low. I understand this is going on, but we really need to start implementing these roles for these issues.' Otherwise, there's not going to be a change," Riney said.

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.

"Canceling bus routes is something other districts do frequently, but is not something JCPS does," Callahan said in a statement on Sunday. "Typically, we delay routes, but with the increase in drivers not showing up for work, the safest and best option is to proactively cancel these routes. We apologize to our families, students and staff for this inconvenience.

JCPS officials said absences will be excused for students who miss school Monday because their bus route was canceled. 

Superintendent Marty Pollio said in a Jefferson County School Board meeting in August that, in an ideal world, they'd have 850 routes. It currently has 568 routes and 578 full-time drivers, but averages 44 drivers each day calling out.

Callahan provided an updated list of canceled routes Monday morning at 8 AM. This list includes the compound and the bus number:

  • Burks 2115
  • Burks 2026
  • Burks 1718
  • Burks 1247
  • Burks 1515
  • Burks 1310
  • SNE 2009
  • SNE 1810
  • SNE 1503
  • Hoke 1607
  • Hoke 1930
  • Hoke 2032
  • SNW 918
  • SNW 922
  • SNW 1111
  • SNW 1113
  • SNW 1504
  • SNW 1505
  • SNW 1101
  • SNW 1704
  • SNW 1419
  • SNW 1401
  • SNW 1301
  • Hoke 1728
  • Hoke 1522
  • Hoke 1836
  • J-Town 1855
  • J-Town 1765
  • J-Town 1261
  • J-Town 2040
  • J-Town 1854
  • J-Town 1939
  • J-Town 1262
  • J-Town 1264
  • J-Town 1853
  • J-Town 1941
  • J-Town 1531
  • J-Town 2042
  • J-Town 1764
  • J-Town 1309
  • J-Town 1530
  • J-Town 2044
  • J-Town 2039
  • J-Town 1258
  • Jacob 2075
  • Blankenbaker 1051
  • Blankenbaker 1812
  • Blankenbaker 1708
  • Blankenbaker 2080
  • Detrick 2070
  • Blue Lick 1340
  • Blue Lick 1921
  • Blue Lick 2021
  • Blue Lick 2022
  • Wilhoit 1191
  • Wilhoit 1957
  • Detrick 1436
  • Detrick 1830
  • Blue Lick 1328
  • Burks 1826
  • Detrick 1969
  • Burks 1176
  • Detrick 1832
  • Blue Lick 2101
  • Burks 2025
  • Burks 2023
  • Nichols 1079
  • Nichols 1964
  • Jacob 2036
  • Lees Lane 1180
  • Lees Lane 1753
  • Lees Lane 1754
  • Jacob 1742
  • Lees Lane 1614
  • Jacob 1603
  • Moore 1187
  • Moore 1177
  • Moore 1271
  • Moore 1950
  • Moore 1280
  • Moore 1189
  • Moore 2053
  • Moore 2052
  • Hoke 1728
  • Hoke 1927
  • Hoke 1929
  • Hoke 1608
  • Hoke 1439
  • Hoke 1182
  • Hoke 1834
  • Hoke 2205
  • Hoke 1929
  • Blue Lick 2018
  • Lees Lane 1617
  • Lees Lane 1747
  • Detrick 1339
  • Blankenbaker 1283
  • Blankenbaker 1238
  • Blankenbaker 1163
  • Blankenbaker 1172
  • Blankenbaker 2016

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