'We are worn out': JCPS bus driver says fixes still needed
Monday marked the second day of the new school year in which all levels of students were in Jefferson County Public Schools classrooms, as high schoolers returned after seven days of missed instruction.
The district's second attempt at transporting more than 60,000 kids across Jefferson County using a new busing system was an improvement compared to the first day of school, though there are still issues. The last student was dropped off at 7:48 p.m. Monday.
On the first day of school, the last student wasn't dropped off until 9:58 p.m.
On Friday, when only elementary and middle school students were bused, all students were dropped off by 7:43 p.m.
“We were glad to see our high students back in classes today,” Superintendent Marty Pollio said in a release late Monday. “I’m proud of our staff who hustled to make sure every child safely arrived at school and got to their bus stops home.
"While there were some hiccups, just as there are during the first week of school each year, I’m proud of the dedication of our JCPS team. We also want to again thank our families for their continuing patience as we work through these transportation issues.”
But one bus driver whose name is being withheld because he fears retribution told The Courier Journal earlier Monday that things still need to be altered.
"I’m exhausted," he said of the start of this new year. "I’ve been very tired. I made a joke today that this is the second week that we’ve been back and it feels like we’ve done 30 days already. It's very exhausting."
The driver said he didn't get home on the first day until 8:20 p.m. — about two hours after his scheduled time. The route he was originally given required him to pick up dozens of students at a middle school at 2:20 p.m. and spend two hours dropping them off. But his next pickup was at a high school at 3:20 and then an elementary at 4:20.
The driver said he and other drivers saw the impossibility of their new routes before the year began but it wasn't until the disastrous first day that district leaders started making changes.
"Everybody, even the coordinators, were thrown off," he said. "They weren’t expecting it to be how it was and none of the higher ups communicated with the coordinators or drivers about the mistakes."
Despite the busing issues, JCPS spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said Monday the district had not received the resignations of any bus drivers since the start of the year. The district employs roughly 600 drivers.
In its release Monday, JCPS pointed to a number of "short-term fixes" it has made since the disastrous first day Aug. 9, when hundreds of students were stuck at school for hours after dismissal. They include:
Contracting with Miller Transportation for 20 additional school buses and drivers.
Adding dozens of employees to answer the 485-RIDE hotline.
Using vans and other vehicles to take kids home who wind up on a wrong bus.
Adding an app that allows employees to know bus locations so information can be communicated to parents.
Increasing staff at bus compounds to assist with communication.
The district has also postponed the start of early childhood classes, freeing up those drivers.
The bus driver who spoke to The Courier Journal said one of his routes was removed Monday, which got him off work at his scheduled time. But that was a temporary fix, he said, and overall the new system requires much more work from drivers.
Drivers work a split shift, but with routes that run longer than scheduled, drivers are losing out on their breaks before the afternoon and then are working much later, he said.
District leaders have been clear that they have not figured out long-term solutions to their busing woes, but it's unclear what they will do to ensure students aren't getting home more than three hours after their school day ends.
"We are hoping that they change some things," the driver said. "Hopefully they can rearrange some stuff and make it easier on the drivers because we are worn out."
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Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS bus situation improves, but driver warns more fixes remain
