JCPS families prepare for the new return-to-school plan

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - As JCPS elementary and middle school students prepare for class on Friday, one woman said the district is still not clear about how she can get her grandkids to school.

“There is no bus stop for either of these children,” Theresa Fields, a grandmother of a JCPS student said.

That’s what JCPS’ bus stop finder continues to say for Fields. Her nightmare continues because she believes the nearest bus stop for one of her grandkids isn’t safe.

“They leave out of Fegenbush Lane, they walk just a little down a bit, then all of a sudden my grandkid has to walk down into a ditch and come back up,” Fields said. “There is a sidewalk, but there’s so much debris he has to walk on Fegenbush Lane when it’s dark. Then he has to go down into another ditch and finish the route. It’s 1.6 miles.”

Every time she entered their address in JCPS’s bus stop finder, it says no bus stops found. Fields has been trying to make transportation plans since August 3. On Wednesday, she finally got a response from someone at the JCPS bus compound which leads Field asking,” How will my grandkids get to school?”

“They tell her they cannot enter any new stop requests,” Fields said. “So I asked what happens on Friday when my middle schooler goes to school and there’s no bus and no transportation? She says, ‘I don’t know.’ If I call the school, are they going to give him an excused absence? The representative says, ‘I don’t know.’ I asked what happens on Monday and both of them don’t have a bus stop and my daughter can’t get them to school, what are they going to do?”

Fields said the advice she was given was to continue monitoring the bus stop finder. In the JCPS bus stop finder, it says the information given by the interactive bus finder may not guarantee a safe walking path to and from the bus stop. It’s up to the parents to make sure kids get to and from the bus stop safely.

“I said it’s not my responsibility,” Fields said. “It’s the responsibility of Jefferson County Public Schools. As of today, all I can do is go into the bus finder and try to find the information. It’s not guaranteed these kids are going to have a bus stop on Friday or Monday.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Fields talked to someone at the JCPS call center about her issue. That’s when she found out they could not enter any new stop requests.

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