Kentucky's largest school district had to cancel class for two days so it could overhaul a 'disastrous' new bus system that left kids on buses until 10 p.m.
Jeff and Anna, Bus Life
- A new bus route plan for Kentucky's largest school district left students on buses until 10 p.m.
- The superintendent said he was forced to cancel classes for two days just to fix the issue.
- The school district is giving bus drivers time to practice their new routes over the weekend.
The largest school district in Kentucky had to cancel two days of class after an overhaul of its new bus route system left several kids stranded on school buses until 10 p.m.
In a video posted on Thursday, Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio said canceling school for two days on Thursday and Friday was "the most difficult decision of my superintendent career."
The school district is home to Louisville, which is Kentucky's largest city with a population of 628,000, according to the US Census Bureau. Pollio told a local NBC affiliate that about 65,000 students in Jefferson County ride the bus to and from school.
In the video, Pollio apologized to the students who were left on buses late into the night and said he understood that it was an "unnerving" experience.
"The transportation disaster that we had last night was truly unacceptable," Pollio said. "And once again I apologize for that. I had to make this decision today because we have to get better."
The Associated Press reported that the school district spent $199,000 to hire the AlphaRoute engineering firm to create a plan that would cut the number of bus routes and stops. According to The Louisville Courier-Journal, the school district changed its bus schedule and start times this year in an attempt to cope with a bus driver shortage.
Pollio said the school district would work through the weekend to update its bus route system to ensure there is no "repeat of what happened."
According to Pollio, the school district is going to review all bus stops for "efficiency," pay its bus drivers to practice their new bus routes, and "dramatically increase" the capacity of its bus system call center.