Transportation cuts possible as JCPS continues working on long-term bus solutions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools may have to start making decisions on who gets transportation to school and who doesn't.

It's all on the table for consideration as the district considers long-term solutions for its transportation issues.

Students are making it home anywhere between 6:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. according to the district, which is several hours after the latest schools are dismissed at 4:20 p.m.

One Jefferson County Board of Education member described JCPS' current fixes as band-aids, and agrees that some students should not be provided transportation.

For an Eastern High School student, who is the daughter of a JCPS bus driver, she expressed her frustration in front of the board at Tuesday night's board meeting.

"How would you feel if you only got to see your father and best friend for less than two hours a day?" the student asked the board during a meeting Tuesday.

By the time she sees her dad, she said there's barely enough time for them to catch up.

"Now my father must work 11 and-a-half hours a day," she said.

In a tearful plea in front of the board, she begged the district to find solutions. But the subject also triggered a tense exchange between a board member and Superintendent Marty Pollio.

Board member Sarah McIntosh said she's talked to "at least one building administrator" who still hadn't been able to tuck her child into bed at night because they're at work so late.

"That's impossible. That's not possible," Pollio responded. "We'll talk offline. I track every single child when they are out of the school, when they are done, when the buses leave the school, we track everything. So I'm not saying it's not a burden on staff, but I'm saying that's not the case."

Pollio said the last bus rider arrives home between 6:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and, at the end of this week, principals will no longer have to wait at school for the last student to arrive home, which Pollio said is standard the first five to ten days of school.

"We have that data and it's very clear, so I don't want to work on just anecdotal," he said.

While the question of what to do right now still remains, the district is also considering what changes to make in the future. That includes cutting back on who is eligible to receive transportation, as the current system buses more than 60,000 kids and takes hundreds of man hours to make it run efficiently.

"Yes, I don't think it's sustainable long-term, we have gotten to the point it is more efficient than what it was, but it's still a struggle," said Pollio.

The district is asking an outside company to perform an external audit to look at what happened with the busing problems on the first day of school, Aug. 9. The district hopes to have a company selected for the board to approve at its next meeting in September, where they are expected to provide another comprehensive update on transportation improvements.

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