JCPS sees improvements on 2nd day of car rider pickups despite some long lines

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More Jefferson County Schools (JCPS) car riders made it home a little bit faster Friday compared to the first day.

Farnsley Middle School on Lees Lane only has one entrance for car riders. In the first day of school, parents waited for more than two hours to pick up their students, but on their second day, the line cleared out in under 40 minutes.

LEES LANE | Farnsley Middle School gets out of school at 3:20pm. Parents are here early. Yesterday, it took more than two hours for this area to clear out. We’ll keep you posted on how today’s dismissal goes at 4, 5, & 6pm on @WDRBNews / @JCPSKY. pic.twitter.com/YRa8MPLHVZ
— Molly Jett (@MolJett) August 9, 2024

First responders tried dodging the traffic and once school dismissed at 3:20 p.m., slowly but surely, parents inched toward the front door.

"The line is ridiculous," Kisha Franks said. "If you get here past three, it goes all the way down."

Parents started lining up about an hour early, which is why there was initially a mile-long line.

"I have to get here at about 2:15 just to get a spot," Franks said.

But JCPS also said an 18-wheeler turned over and got stuck causing some extra traffic throughout the neighborhood prior to dismissal.

Janet Markham thought it was going to end like the first day of school.

"We ended up all the way past Campground Road, and then we didn't get her until after four, and we still had to go to Valley Station and pick up another granddaughter at another elementary school," Markham said.

One woman, who did not have to pick up a middle schooler opted not to wait and walked home.

"Nobody's getting on time," she said. "Nobody's getting to work on time. People have to walk home it's crazy."

But, it moved much faster the second day and traffic cleared in under an hour.

"At Farnsley, the teachers are great," Franks said. "The staff is great. The school accomplishing this email communication. I know they're trying. This is new for everybody, so I think we're all just trying to hopefully get better, and hope this isn't what it looks like the rest of the year."

Pick up lines at other JCPS schools, like Engelhard Elementary, duPont Manual and Noe Middle also had long lines but they cycled through a lot faster and cleared within 30 minutes.

"I don't mind that they don't have busses, because I was pretty much bringing her anyway," Markham said. "But just to make it go smoother, I wish they had buses for everybody that went to special schools. This is her best school in our district."

Parents are hopeful as JCPS is in the middle of reviewing all the dismissal times to make improvements for the rest of the school year.

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