Classes still off early next week in Kentucky’s largest school district due to bus schedule mess

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville schools will remain closed early next week to allow for more time to fix bus routes whose redesign left some children at home on the first school day this year and others getting home hours late.

The Jefferson County Public Schools had already canceled classes Thursday and Friday in response to Wednesday’s route fiasco. Now there will be no school Monday and Tuesday “as we continue to work on short and long-term changes to ensure the reliability of our bus services.” the district said Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kentucky’s largest district, with 96,000 students, had retooled its bus system through a Massachusetts-based consulting company that uses computer algorithms to map out courses and stops. It was a response to a chronic bus driver shortage. The redesigned plan reduced the number of routes.

Wednesday’s mess resulted in hungry and tired children, angry parents and exasperated politicians.

An apologetic Superintendent Marty Pollio had signaled Friday that classes may have to be delayed into next week to fix the problems. He said the district should have anticipated the new plan didn’t leave enough time for buses to get from stop to stop and transport its 65,000 riders.

Some state lawmakers are now calling on evaluating whether the district should be split up.

The school system said Saturday that all extracurricular activities, including athletics, would continue as planned Monday and Tuesday.

Many other districts across the country also are experiencing bus driver shortages.