JCPS: No way to estimate how many students will return to resides schools if transportation to magnets is cut

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools families waiting to learn if buses will be cut for next school year may not get answers for several weeks.

The focus for the district right now is whether to provide transportation or not, and to which students.

Some Jefferson County Board of Education members said they're waiting for the district to give them a recommendation on busing before they can vote. But now there's a better idea of what the timeline looks like.

"Most likely at the March 26th Board meeting is when we will have a recommendation for our Board and a vote, so probably about 4 weeks from now," JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said Monday.

The board is weighing three options:

No longer provide buses for students who attend magnet and traditional schools, and only transport students who attend reside schools or an A5 school and students who require transportation under federal law, such as students experiencing homelessness or students in special education.
Operate central hubs where magnet and traditional students could get bused to school from a drop-off point instead of from their neighborhoods
Keep the current system and its associated delays

The district said the only option that would reduce the routes needed for the number of bus drivers available is cutting out transportation for magnet and traditional school students. Right now, JCPS starts every school day with more routes than it has drivers, and the number of drivers available is expected to decrease next school year.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure that we mitigate the impact on that, on families, and try to do everything we can to provide as much transportation as possible along with other options for families as well to get to schools," Pollio said.

JCPS has said if busing is eliminated for magnet students, it doesn't have a way to estimate how many students will then return to their resides school. Resides schools are set by boundary lines and aren't necessarily the school closest to your house. If resides schools are over capacity, the district will then need to look at adjusting boundary lines.

"We will have a transfer period, as we always do, that takes place in late April and May so that gives parents another opportunity if they need to make a change as a result of it, they'll have that opportunity," said Pollio.

Currently, out of the nearly 65,000 students JCPS transports, nearly 16,000 students attend magnet or traditional schools.

While many parents want JCPS to move back to two start times, Pollio said that will not happen. Middle school and high school instruction previously started at 7:40 a.m., while elementary schools started at 9:05 a.m. The new plan adopted this year includes nine different start times ranging from 7:40 a.m. to as late as 10:40 a.m.

Some parents have said if busing is taken away, their child won't be able to attend a magnet or traditional school.

"I mean the last thing we want to do is have kids change schools as a result of this," Pollio said. "So we're going to work as hard as we can do to that. At the same time, you know, we have the resources we have. We have the bus drivers we have."

Board member Corrie Schull told WDRB News he's concerned about equity, and how cutting transportation could affect lower income families being able to attend the school of their choice.

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JCPS: No way to estimate how many students will return to resides schools if transportation to magnets is cut