LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After the Jefferson County Board of Education voted to cut transportation to magnet and traditional schools, some students are planning on transferring. 

Jefferson County Public Schools said transfer requests are done on the district's website.

This comes after the district voted Wednesday to cut transportation for thousands of students who attend magnet or traditional schools, with the exception of Central and Western high schools. 

Now parents are left with a difficult decision — keeping their child in a magnet or traditional school without transportation, or transfer them to their resides school. 

Resides schools are the schools that serve a certain home address, and isn't always the closest school to that address. 

"We will have a transfer period, as we always do, so that gives parents another opportunity if they need to make a change as a result of it, they'll have that opportunity," JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said in late February.

The transfer period starts on May 6. The district said the Student Transfer Application may not be used to apply to a magnet school. If the school is full at the requested grade level, JCPS said the student will have the option of filling out a wait list request.

"For elementary, there are clusters of schools, and families rank their choices. You are not guaranteed your No. 1 choice, but you are guaranteed an elementary school in your cluster," JCPS Spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said. "For middle and high resides schools, there are no wait lists."

Jefferson County Public Schools said transfer requests are done on the district's website.

However, capacity at reside schools is a concern. JCPS administrators estimate around 25% of students at each middle and traditional school will transfer to a reside.

"They (reside school boundary lines) will have to be adjusted if a school is overcrowded," said Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk during Wednesday's meeting.

Including magnet and traditional schools, JCPS shared projected enrollment numbers for 2024-25 at all schools, before factoring in students who will transfer following the transportation vote.

Twenty-five elementary schools are expected to be at or over capacity: Bates, Blake, Bloom, Coral Ridge, Fairdale, Farmer, Fern Creek, Hartstern, Hazelwood, Indian Trail, Jeffersontown, Johnsontown Road, Kenwood, Lowe, Luhr, Medora, Norton, Portland, Schaffner, Slaughter, St. Matthews, Stonestreet, Stopher, Wheeler, and Wilt.

Eight middle schools are expected to be at or over capacity: Barret Traditional, Farnsley, Grace M. James Academy, Hudson, Noe, Ramsey, Stuart, and Phoenix School of Discovery.

And three high schools are expected to be at or over capacity: Atherton, Grace M. James Academy, and Phoenix School of Discovery.

However, board member Linda Duncan anticipates the transfers to be more "spread out," and avoid having to re-draw boundary lines for reside schools. 

For parents who will drive their kids to magnet and traditional schools, JCPS will pay them. The district said it will provide "stipends." At a previous board meeting, the district said that would be $10 per school day given to parents of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, and $5 per day for parents of other students.

Under a 170-day school year, the stipends could be worth $850 to $1,700 depending on the family's income.

JCPS said the stipends could cost the district $6 million to $7.6 million per year. Duncan told WDRB News the board may vote on the stipends and new school start times during its next meeting next Tuesday, April 16.

Also expected to be discussed at that meeting are start times. JCPS said it will change go from nine to three start times next school year.

The district said families will be sent information on the stipend process, when it's available.

Duncan says JCPS is looking at elementary schools start at 7:30, high schools and as many middle schools at 8:40, and any remaining elementary and middle schools at 9:40.

Click here for the Student Transfer Application.

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