Some JCPS parents angry over decision to cut transportation for magnet, traditional schools

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Emotions are running high as parents of Jefferson County Public Schools begin strategizing for next school year.

The JCPS Board on Wednesday night voted four to three to cut transportation for most magnet and traditional schools, but students who attend Central and Western High Schools will be able to ride the bus. Those two schools were exempt because more than 75 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

"This is bigger than any one school. This is bigger than Black and brown kids. This impacts this entire city," said board member Logan Strange.

What the vote means for the future

The district acknowledged that even with this plan, it will still result in delays in the morning and afternoon for students. The continuing bus issues will cost students millions of minutes of instructional time in the classroom.

JCPS plans to consolidate start times, going from nine different start times down to just three. The new schedule will have schools start at 7:40 a.m., 8:40 a.m. and 9:40 a.m.

Since many students will likely transfer to their resides school in order to keep a ride, boundaries for K through 6 elementary schools could also change. But the district is still working all of that out, according to JCPS superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio.

"I'm telling you this has absolutely gutted me, absolutely gutted me for the past six or seven months on what to do and what is the right answer in this situation," Pollio said.

JCPS parents want answers

Thousands of parents are now being forced to make decisions about where their child attends school, and how they will get there. Many said they are frustrated and exhausted with JCPS's transportation issues.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. What are we supposed to do now?" said parent Cassie Kidd. Her daughter attends Fairdale High School for its emergency management program and to pursue her love of art.

"I'm mad -- beyond that. Because people like us that don't have a car, that don't have a way of walking or taking a bus. It's frustrating for us," Kidd said.

Just as her ninth grader is making friends and finding her place at Fairdale, Kidd feels she has to uproot her daughter's life. "I will probably have to homeschool her or find another solution because her reside school is Iroquois, and I don't want to go on there."

Kidd's daughter has been with JCPS since kindergarten. She said if she had known the district would have so many transportation issues, she might have moved closer to Fairdale to guarantee her daughter's spot.

Berkley Collins is able to wait at the bus stop in the afternoons for her daughters, Emma and Arai, to get home from their traditional schools. "We all rely on that bus transportation to get our kids to and from school."

But next year, Collins will need a different plan because of the district's changes to busing. "So now that means I have two different schedules I have to work around."

Collins said she started this school year with a corporate job, but when she realized transportation changes were looming, she shifted careers and now owns a cleaning business. It allows her to work around school schedules and drive her girls to school next fall.

On Thursday, some parents started a private Facebook group to help with carpooling. If you're interested, you'll have to ask to join. Click here.

As for the exact number of JCPS students expected to lose transportation under this new plan, the district asked WDRB to send in an open records request before it would provide that information.

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