JCPS sees improvements with short-term fixes to busing issues
More than a week after Jefferson County Public Schools made the decision to cancel classes due to busing issues, the school district says its seen an improvement.
Elementary and middle schools were back in session on Friday for a "second first day."
JCPS officials said that the last student was dropped off Friday night at 7:43 p.m. and that there were only 17 students on buses at 7:15 p.m.
Just last Wednesday, the last student didn't get home from the first day of school until 9:58 p.m., prompting the school district to cancel classes until now.
During that time, JCPS announced several short-term solutions it would introduce to alleviate some of the busing issues on the first day.
Those included:
- Contracting with Miller Transportation for 20 additional school buses and drivers
- Adding dozens of employees to man the 485-RIDE hotline
- Deploying vans and other vehicles to take kids home who wound up on a wrong bus
- Adding an app allowing JCPS employees to know where buses were located during their routes to identify late buses for parents
- Increasing staff at the bus compound to assist with communication
As a result of these implementations, JCPS officials said they saw students getting home quicker and there was better communication with families.
"Our bus drivers and staff did a phenomenal job getting tens of thousands of students safely to and from school today," said Marty Pollio, JCPS superintendent, in a news release. "The short-term adjustments we put in place were successful and we continue to work on more substantial, long-term solutions. I맥스카지노m pleased with the effort and look forward to welcoming our high school students back on Monday."
Pollio had previously said he expects more changes to take effect after fall break for JCPS that would help prevent issues with busing.