LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools detailed the reasons behind the district’s bus system problems and what’s happening to fix the issues Tuesday night, in front of a packed crowd of frustrated parents and students.

What You Need To Know

  • Superintendent Marty Pollio outlined JCPS bus system challenges and solutions

  • Frustrated parents voiced their concerns during Tuesday's school board meeting

  • Parent Shayla Porter stressed the need for equitable education in Jefferson County

  • Some students will return to classes starting Friday, with high schoolers returning Monday

The regularly scheduled school board meeting was held nearly a week after a transportation fiasco on the first day, which saw some students not make it home until nearly 10 p.m. The issues caused Pollio to cancel classes while the district worked to sort out the issues. Students will return to school starting on Friday. 

During Tuesday’s meeting, Dr. Marty Pollio also presented both short and long-term strategies to address the transportation issues.

Pollio attributed the transportation breakdown to several factors, including a driver shortage, outdated technology for bus routes and communication failures.

“Nearly every one of these things we just told you about should have could have been and should have been anticipated. And they weren’t,” Pollio acknowledged.

Immediate changes include optimizing bus routes, adding location tracking to buses for improved communication with schools and families, and staging district vehicles around Louisville that could be used in the coming weeks to help ensure kids get home in a timely manor. 

As for long-term solutions, Pollo says that could mean reducing who gets transportation in JCPS.

“We continue to say let’s provide transportation to nearly every school that a child and a family chooses to go to. But it is definitely stretching us thin,” Pollio stated.

Parents, frustrated by the prolonged school board meeting, expressed their concerns about JCPS’s transportation troubles.

“To say that I was livid is an understatement,” one parent stated.

Among those voicing concerns was Shayla Porter, a parent of three JCPS students, who was among the first attendees at the VanHoose Education Center on Tuesday.

“I just want to see if there’s really work being done. I think that we have intelligent people in these spaces who are leaders, who can make decisions and have the power to do so, but I’m not necessarily seeing that happen,” Porter said.

Porter says she expected issues with the buses on the first day and was able to plan accordingly. She adds, however, not all families can do that.

“There’s an expectation. I’ve been saying to people, I’ve got two expectations I expect, for the schools to teach them and I expect for the schools to keep them safe. So right now, both of them are a little questionable. Have been for a while,” she expressed.

Despite welcoming these changes, Porter emphasized they did not restore her trust in the district.

“Make the schools equitable. Please. We have waited for decades for that to happen,” Porter said, speaking to the school board and superintendent.

JCPS board members are calling for increased accountability from the district following the rocky start to the school year. Both the superintendent and the board support conducting an audit to gain a comprehensive understanding of what led to the issues.

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