LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Across Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), kids have missed nearly 8 million minutes of class time because of transportation problems.
It's also unknown whether magnet and traditional students will get buses next year.
The recommended plan by JCPS would impact more than 14,000 students across the district, and some of those kids don't go straight home. They go to child care centers.
"We have parents who work early in the morning who drop their kids off early to catch the school bus," Deve Collins-Frias, who operates Our Angels Christian Child Care Center, said.
Collins-Frias also waits for kids to arrive after school, which can be after 6 p.m. some nights.
"I feel all the pressure on me because I have to tell the director or the teacher that we have to stay open a little bit later, or myself, just to help the parents out," Collins-Frias said.
Collins-Frias said this year's bus route changes had an impact on their bottom line.
"At my West Pages (location), I think we lost 15 school age kids because we could not accommodate them to get on the school bus," Collins-Frias said.
That's why she is watching closely as the district tries to solve the bus driver shortage.
"Where I am right now and where we have to look forward facing is the simple mathematical equation that we have less bus drivers than we have routes," JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio previously said.
The plan on the table would eliminate transportation for 14,000 students who attend magnet schools or programs, traditional schools, and students who attend Academies of Louisville programs that are not in their reside school.
"We're probably going to lose more kids,"Â Collins-Frias said. "It's gonna affect our community a lot."
She also expects more parents will be forced to change their work schedules, or even jobs, if they have to drive kids to magnet programs.
The next discussion about the transportation plan will be on April 16.
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