LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The return of high school students will add another 20,000 bus riders to the mix for Jefferson County Public Schools on Monday.

Elementary and middle school students returned to class Friday after being off for nearly a week while the district worked to fix transportation issues.

All of those students were home by 7:43 p.m. Friday. Overall, bus delays for the morning commute averaged 10-40 minutes for some students, but the district told families earlier this week to still anticipate some normal "first day" delays.

The district said Friday's drop-off time was "on par" with the first day of school in 2022.

While the district said Friday was successful, buses weren't transporting all JCPS students — only elementary and middle school students. High school students will be added to the mix Monday morning.

But some parents are optimistic about Monday after Friday's return, saying things are on the right track. 

"They figured it out and whatever happened, you know, they fixed it," said Sandy Schardein.

Schardein has a grandson at Noe Middle School and another grandson at Manual High School.

"I texted him and he said everything was on time," she said. "The bus picked him up on time, and it dropped him off on time, so I was thrilled."

She said that's why she's hopeful everything is on time Monday, too.

"I'm hoping so, yes, but of course he's in high school so, if something happens where he's on the bus for a while, he won't get upset," she said.

JCPS staggered the start times to figure out what went wrong on the first day of school last Wednesday, Aug. 9, when students spent hours on the bus, some not getting home until close to 10 p.m. 

"He said he was hungry and thirsty when he got home," Schardein said of last week.

Friday, parents were pleasantly surprised with how bus commutes were. John Owens has a sophomore at Manual and a fourth grader at Bloom Elementary.

"She was home early, which she could handle it so it's OK," said Owens.

JCPS plans to get a new app for parents to be able to track their child's bus. 

The Edulog Parent Portal Lite app shows users when a school bus is scheduled to pick up and drop off a student. Parents can turn on notifications to be alerted when a bus comes within a certain distance of their homes.

The app was not ready for parents and guardians to use by Friday, but JCPS had access.

Until the app is available to parents, they can call their child's school — or the 485-RIDE bus hotline — and staff can pinpoint where the bus is. All schools will have access, district spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said. The transportation call center had about 30 people answering phones Friday, a big improvement from the 10 or 11 staffed on the first day of school, Callahan said during a news briefing Thursday afternoon.  

"It was a failure on lots of levels, but, you know, they'll figure it out and everybody will be fine," said Owens. "Two weeks from now, nobody will be talking about it.

The long-term plan the district has to fix transportation issues is to revamp its bus routes. But, in the meantime, families feel like they used their time off wisely and are optimistic. 

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