LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools is planning to return students to class sometime in the middle of next week as it works to mitigate the issues that led to some students spending hours on a bus, getting home as late as 10 p.m. on the first day of the year.

Superintendent Marty Pollio said in a news conference Friday that the district will have an updated timeline for parents by Saturday "at the absolute latest."

"I believe, looking at it and the things that we need to implement with our bus drivers, it could be the middle of next week," he said. "That's what we are shooting for right now. We will have a final decision on that in the next 24 hours ..."

In a recorded video message early Thursday morning, Pollio called Wednesday a "transportation disaster" Wednesday amid new bus routes and school start times. At 5:13 a.m. Thursday, JCPS parents got a text alert that said school would be canceled on Thursday, Aug. 10, and Friday, Aug. 11, an effort by the district to fix the issues.

Pollio said he believes the district will have "solutions in place" when students return to school. He said the new start times aren't to blame, rather the way all the new bus routes were implemented.

"We're working in the same system, but it's going to be much more efficient, and our communication will be much better with families and schools," he said. "We want to make sure we get that right before we put kids back on a school bus again."

Board member James Craig shared his thoughts about the press conference after it concluded. As well as frustrations with the district's decision to close schools Thursday and Friday.

"I am anxious to get them [students] there as quickly and safely as possible... Every resource that was requested from the administration to implement this plan has been given," Craig said. "I think that we stand ready to give any further resources that are required to get us over this speed bump."

Pollio said the issues were multi-faceted and complex, from the implementation of a new student assignment plan, brand new bus routes for a fleet of drivers already stretched thin and a new schedule of bus stops leaving kids unsure on where they need to be.

"The first day of school is extremely important," Pollio said Friday. "It's just shame it has to be overshadowed by the transportation problem that happened after school."

JCPS recently started using a program developed by a firm called AlphaRoute out of Massachusetts to help with planning routes and assigning bus stop locations. The program — developed by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — uses artificial intelligence to generate the routes with the intent of reducing the number of routes. JCPS had 730 routes last year, and that was cut to 600 beginning this year.

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Jefferson County Public Schools superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio at a news conference about the transportation issues that canceled school. (WDRB Image) Aug. 11, 2023

Jefferson County school board member Linda Duncan said she believes the district spent $265,000 for the AlphaRoute system. Pollio said representatives from AlphaRoute will be in town over the weekend to help JCPS work in implementing its plan.

Pollio called the new bus plan as well as all the new start times an "unprecedented" amount of change to start the year, reiterating that not as an excuse but to emphasize the hurdles the first day brought.

"We should have anticipated those problems better than we did," he said. "... Once again, I'll say that's on me and my team."

Currently, he said bus drivers get directions for their routes — many of which were brand new Wednesday — on pieces of paper telling them where to turn. Pollio said they're looking into getting GPS for drivers, though that's not a solution they can realistically implement soon.

Bus drivers spent Thursday and Friday practicing their routes as instructed.

However bus drivers who spoke to WDRB said learning routes is not the biggest problem. The two drivers said part of the reason Wednesday was so "hectic" is because bus routes are not located near their compounds, sending them to opposite sides of the county, in areas they are not as familiar with.

"No matter how long you practice or how much you practice a route, you can only do so much," said one driver. "Changing the start times was a good start, but changing the buses transferring from one end of town to the other end of town, you're just adding confusion, so it's kind of pointless at that point."

The other issue mentioned is that drivers routes are not the same in the morning and afternoon. Meaning some have up to seven routes to memorize, which drivers say is also adds confusion for kids, who don't know the difference between their two routes.

"I don't understand why we stopped mirroring routes, that in itself was a problem. If we mirror the routes, we have a better relationship with the parents, better relationship with the kids, and we know where we're going," another driver said.

Drivers also remain frustrated as they feel there has been no request for input.

Pollio said he met with some drivers Friday afternoon. The two who spoke to WDRB said they were not part of that meeting and expressed some concern over who was.

"Those drivers were handpicked, so he [Pollio] knew who he had, what he can say, and they basically go along with it," a bus driver said.

John Stovall, president of the union that represents bus drivers for JCPS said he believes classes should be canceled through next week to help sort out the logistics. Stovall said he's heard frustration and anger from his drivers that were out as late as 10 p.m. Wednesday. He said the drivers had no input on the new routes, fearing they wouldn't make it in time.

"They're going from one end of town all the way to the other end of town all for one student," he said. "... This is not going to work. They feel like they've been set up for failure."

UPS offered its expertise in transportation and logistics Thursday morning to help JCPS sort out busing delays, UPS spokesman Jim Mayer said.

"We have had a conversation about whether it would be useful for us to offer help," Mayer told WDRB News.

Neither the company nor the school district was able to say whether any collaboration will materialize.

"We appreciate the strong community partnership we have with UPS and we are setting up a meeting with them," JCPS spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said in an email.

The JCPS Board of Education will meet Tuesday, Aug. 15. The agenda posted as of Friday night does not include discussion over transportation. However, Craig believes that could likely change and said the current agenda should be "scrapped" and the entire discussion should be dedicated to transportation problems.

This story will be updated.

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