LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Amber Boles' son was riding the school bus one day earlier this month when he texted her in a panic. In an overcrowded Jefferson County Public Schools bus, he told her a substitute driver was driving the bus down the interstate with kids telling them to stop. He had no idea what bus he was on because there have been so many substitute buses.
"I was concerned for his safety, more than anything," Boles said.
A student at Phoenix School of Discovery in Lyndon, Boles' son, Bryson, said there were three kids sitting in each seat. Videos obtained by WDRB News shows buses packed with students, some even standing and sitting in the aisle.
"If they got into an accident, what would it be like?" Boles said, wondering how dangerous it is to have that crowded of a bus driving at high speeds on the interstate.
"My son rides a very long distance from St. Matthews standing up. He cannot bring his instrument home and he has to transfer to another bus."
The new school year is a little more than a month old, but the changes instituted over the summer by JCPS have created headaches for parents and logistical challenges on a daily basis. And more than five weeks after JCPS was forced to cancel six days of class to figure out how to better implement its new busing plan, Boles said it hasn't gotten better.
'It's not safe'
The videos taken from inside buses all tell the same story: students sitting or standing in the aisle, some holding onto the top of the seats for support.
Boles said she's repeatedly reached out to the district, sitting for almost two hours on hold with the bus compound, also calling and emailing Bryson's school.
"They say they're working on trying to get more bus drivers and trying to get the routes in place," she said.
Carolyn Callahan, chief communications officer with JCPS, released a statement saying buses have a seating capacity of 66 and, on some crowded buses, students choose to stand rather than be the third person on a bench.
"A few buses may currently have more than 66 on a given day," she said. "There is no policy against standing though our bus drivers will encourage students to find a seat, if possible."
Callahan said about 20% of JCPS routes have 66 students assigned to it.
"Safety is our top priority and while there is nothing that prohibits standing on buses, our drivers are trained to encourage all students to sit while on the school bus," she said. "... The vast majority of all bus riders are at their stops or home by 6:30 every night, which is on par with last year when dismissal was thirty minutes earlier than it is now. As long as efficiency improvements continue, there will not be a major overhaul over Fall Break, but the work will continue over the break to continue to improve efficiencies."
Boles said her son counted 78 students on his bus one day recently. But, to Callahan's point, none of it is illegal. Students can't stand in the stepwell or landing of a bus, but Kentucky law says a "driver shall make certain the seating capability of the bus has been fully utilized before any student is permitted to stand in the bus aisle."
The law says a driver must report to the superintendent any overcrowded bus.
"(Bryson) told me the bus driver told them they can stand in the aisleway as long as it's by the emergency exit," Boles said. "They're standing pretty much from the middle all the way to the end of the exit.
"There is supposed to be three to a seat. It's a high school and middle school. There is some children. It's impossible to get three children to a seat."
Boles said while overcrowding is worse in the afternoon, mornings are often bad too.
"Sometimes, they'll yell out, 'This bus is too full. You need to get another bus,'" she said. "Sometimes, they let part on and part don't get on depending on how much room there is. I've seen kids walk back home."
Like many school districts across the country, JCPS is dealing with a bus driver shortage, having to cut routes for a district that serves 65,000 bussed students. The issues are so bad that the last student didn't get off the bus until about 10 p.m. on the first day of school, prompting district leaders to cancel school for a week to improve logistics.
Superintendent Marty Pollio said in a Jefferson County School Board meeting last month that, in an ideal world, they'd have 850 routes. Instead, they have fewer than 600.
"I don't blame the bus drivers one bit," Boles said. "I'm glad they are still dealing with it."
JCPS is using 22 additional buses through a contract with Miller Transportation that runs through August 2024. The expenses paid to Miller in the past three years are:
- FY 24: $0 paid year to date in transportation costs and $49,812.50 in field trip and athletic transportation services
- FY 23: $922,350 in transportation costs and $908,377.50 in field trip and athletic transportation services
- FY 22: $536,524 in transportation costs and $375,678.50 in field trip and athletic transportation services
Pollio said the district is now looking at different options.
"If we want efficiency in transportation, if we want to make sure bus rides are short, bus rides are not overcrowded, then we are going to have to make tough decisions on who gets transportation and who doesn't," he said.
The district plans to update its transportation plan at its next board meeting Sept. 26.
"I just hope, for the children's safety, they can get this in place," Boles said. "It's not safe to ride even down the block like that, let alone the highway."
Jefferson County Public Schools Bus
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