It was a rough start to the school year for many Jefferson County Public School parents who were left waiting hours for their children to get dropped off.As late as 9:38 p.m. Wednesday, JCPS chief of communications Carolyn Callahan said they were still working to get students home. Officials confirmed that at 9:58 p.m., all bus riders had been dropped off. The district shifted start times this year to help ease the delays that have been seen in recent years due to the bus driver shortage, but some parents say it's actually made things worse. Kittie Rembert's grandson George was released from Layne Elementary at 2:20 p.m. and at 4:30 p.m., there was still no sign of the second-grader at his bus stop."This is not helping anybody. If anything, it's got everyone angry and anxious and worried about their children," Rembert said.He used to be picked up right outside his apartment, but now his bus stop is several blocks from his home and with only one car in the family, they are unable to drive him there. "They have kids coming a 39-minute walk on Dixie Highway to right where we're at," Rembert said.George eventually made it off the bus just before 5 p.m., almost 11 hours after he left to go to school.비바카지노 Viva received calls from dozens of parents wondering where their children were. Some were still waiting for them to return home as late as 8:45 p.m. It wasn't just getting home. Several parents across the district also reported problems getting their kids to school.Faith, who has a fourth-grader at Brandeis Elementary, called the transportation situation Wednesday morning "awful.""It's just really hard with work schedules. Employers just aren't being very understanding about the changes and our bus was over 50 minutes late and I had to drive him in today," Faith said.During a midday briefing with reporters, Superintendent Marty Pollio said traffic problems played a big part in the morning delays but said most were typical first-day issues. "There's going to be delays. It's going to take some time, but what I can assure families is that will continue to lessen and reduce as we go along in the next week to two weeks," Pollio said.For some, though, the changes have made life easier. Robin Hawkins says this is the first year her child is attending JCPS and said the start time works out great for her family. "The time works really well for my work schedule. So, I'm excited about it," Hawkins said.The same goes for the district's high school students, who now get to sleep in a little later. "It's great. I can go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at 7:30 and have eight and half hours of sleep and that's really good for me because of homework and football and all of that," said Fern Creek High School senior Nehemiah Lucky.Late Wednesday evening, Pollio sent a letter to all JCPS families apologizing for the long delays. He assured families they would be making adjustments to ensure students get to school in a safe and timely manner. However, he cautioned it won't be a quick fix. August 9, 2023Good evening,We apologize to those families who waited for hours for their child to return home after dismissal. As of 9:58 p.m. all JCPS bus riders have been dropped off. While JCPS always experiences delays in transportation during the first several days of school, what happened today is unacceptable. We acknowledge that the delays and frustrations felt by families were worse than in years past as bus drivers, families, students and school staff all worked to navigate a brand new transportation plan. We will be working diligently to make adjustments with the goal of reducing bus wait times and ensuring every child who needs one has a safe ride to and from school. However, we are under no illusion that all, or even most, of the challenges we faced today will be fixed tomorrow. In years past, most of the kinks in the transportation system have been worked out within two weeks. We맥스카지노�re hopeful that will be the case again this year. Please continue to show our bus drivers some grace and understanding. They have been working hard learning new routes for both the morning and afternoon, and getting to know their new students. We appreciate all of their hard work and dedication. Again, our apologies for a long first day for some of our students and their families.Sincerely, Dr. Marty Pollio Superintendent